Tottenham star Dele Alli ready to stand his ground for England vs Scotland

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Rory Dollard10 June 2017

England's players can expect nothing short of a scrap when they take on rivals Scotland in their own back yard but Dele Alli, their creative, combustible playmaker, has never been one to walk away from battle.

Alli is one of the most cultured members of the current Three Lions squad, lean of build and fleet of foot with a neat array of tricks and flicks at his disposal.

But when things get feisty at Hampden Park on Saturday, as they surely will in the latest instalment of the often bruising British derby, few will be as prepared as the 21-year-old Tottenham man.

Rather than rising through the ranks of the Premier League academy system, he grew up further down the ladder at MK Dons and had his first taste of senior football in League One, where the tackles fly and skilful teenagers are not traditionally offered space to thrive.

"You see a lot of things going on in the league when you are playing there, a lot of players going into tough challenges and little things that maybe you wouldn't get away with in the Premier League," said Alli.

"I've had to look after myself for a long time in the football world.

"Some things can go wrong but you don't want players to think they can walk all over you, so it's important you stand your ground.

"I think in League One there's a lot of great players and you sort of sit there and wonder why they're not playing in the Premier League when you play against them, with the skills they have.

"But I think there's different reasons for that and you have to be mentally strong to get through it and be ready to step up to the challenge."

That was a lesson Alli learned early, having been dropped then mentored by youth coach Dan Micciche, who is now with the Football Association, in favour of more robust contemporaries.

"When I was really young playing in the academy I was a striker and I was on the bench a lot in the Under-13s. It was because I wasn't as physically strong as the other boys at the age," Alli said.

England Football Boot Camp - In pictures

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"Then the manager (Micciche) took the decision to pull me back and put me just in front of the defence.

"He said he did it so I could get more space and I didn't have to worry about physical battles and I could just focus on my strengths, which at the time were getting on the ball and passing."​

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