I wasn’t, I confess, particularly looking forward to last Tuesday’s game at Hampden. According to the chat in the run-up, “cautious” Steve Clarke was going to have us soaking up the pressure and trying to hit something on the break. We’d need to be patient. It certainly wasn’t going to be a goal-fest.

Then we came out, ran at the Danes like a Viking raiding party, and banged in an overhead kick after three minutes.

And that, “Downing Street sources”, is how you roll a pitch.

Of course, media management is as much a part of the rituals of the Budget as the Chancellor posing for the cameras outside Number 11 with the famous red box. This year, however, the frenzy of speculation has been at a different level.

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According to one report, the Treasury has considered more than 100 different tax and spend measures in recent weeks in a bid to tackle its £20-£30 billion fiscal shortfall.

The dizzying array of reported options on (then off, then on again) the table has included income and capital gains tax going up and

© Herald Scotland