Euro `96: `I don't know if I can sink any lower'

Gary McAllister yesterday relived his pivotal penalty miss against England as he vowed to continue taking spot-kicks. "I'll carry on taking penalties," he said after a sleepless night at the team's base in Stratford- upon-Avon mulling over one of the lowest moments of his career.

"I don't know if I can sink any lower," the 31-year-old Scotland captain and midfielder said. "Hitting it straight is not something I normally do, but given the stage in the game I felt I had to score. Goalkeepers tend to go early and I thought the right decision was to go high in the middle - I just didn't get it high enough. If I had side-footed it for the corner he would have dropped his cap on it."

McAllister dismissed the fact that the ball moved slightly before he struck it. "I've been taking penalties for as long as I can remember. My first instinct is to go and take them and I'll carry on. I know that it gave England an almighty burst and they went up the park and scored. The mistake I made was crucial."