England coaches keep eye on Thompson

Alan Thompson will be watched by the England management team against Bayern Munich having missed out on his first call-up.

It has been revealed that the in-form Celtic midfielder would have been in the squad to take on Denmark had it not been for injury.

But Sven-Goran Eriksson’s assistant Tord Grip has revealed that he will be watched again in the Champions League showdown with the German side should he recover from a calf problem.

“We’d have watched him against Anderlecht had he not been injured and he’d have been in the squad otherwise,” Grip told the Scottish Mail.

“He offers us balance down the left and has been playing well.

“I’ve seen plenty of him on TV and watched him in Munich. He’s at a mature stage in his career which can only help and he has a powerful backer in Martin O’Neill.

“Either myself or Sven will come to the Bayern match in Glasgow. He’s firmly in our thoughts for our next match in Portugal.”