A Scottish defeat always hurts, a loss at home is painful, and a cuffing by the Auld Enemy stings the most.
But Scotland should not allow a disappointing result at Celtic Park to undo almost two years of building work under Gordon Strachan.
Scotland won the big game of the week, the Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland, and, while a victory over the Auld Enemy would have been nice, the friendly must be seen in that context.
Qualifying for a major tournament for the first time since 1998 is the main aim and is what the players and management should be judged against, and at the moment things are looking good.
There’s a fair bit of time before the next qualifier and, let’s face it, the fact that it’s away to Gibraltar the so-called whipping boys of the group should ease us back into the competitive fixtures gently.
That’s in March, so Scotland have got time to lick their wounds and get themselves back focused on the real task at hand.
I was at Celtic Park and sometimes you have to hold your hands up.
England settled brilliantly, Scotland had a decent 20 minute spell, and you could only marvel as Jack Wilshere’s sublime ball over the top found Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the opener. You could question the Scottish defence, but kudos has to go to the Arsenal pairing.
It then became abundantly clear that Strachan perhaps should have shuffled his pack after the Ireland game.
The England fixture certainly looked like a big game too far for what was effectively the same starting line-up, while Chris Martin the only change from the 11 who faced the Republic in place of Steven Fletcher was largely ineffectual.
But, mental or physical fatigue aside, England just looked far superior in every department. Organisation-wise, there was a sea of white shirts crowding out every Scottish attack.
Strachan said after the match that he felt the Scottish players were “spooked” a wee bit by the intensity, strength and pace of the English. They probably weren’t the only ones.
When asked afterwards about that very point, Roy Hodgson suggested that England always played at that kind of intensity level but in my opinion that hasn’t been evident in their recent encounters.
While Scotland are embroiled in their own particular Group of Death in Euro 2016 qualification, England are cruising to France in a group that Scotland can only dream of and have been playing well within themselves.
However, great players thrive on atmospheres like the one created in Celtic Park, and the mix of youth and experience that England clearly have handled the occasion brilliantly.
They weren’t overawed and went about their business professionally and clinically, and quite rightly brought plaudits from Strachan after the final whistle.
The second goal silenced Celtic Park a bad goal to lose from Scotland’s point of view and, although Andrew Robertson’s goal gave the Scots a glimmer of hope late on, both in terms of the game and for the future of the national team, the Tartan Army didn’t have enough time to savour it.
England simply stepped up another gear and sealed the victory.
Still, from a Scotland perspective, there are still plenty of positives that can be taken from the game even in defeat and the cameos made by the likes of Stevie May and Johnny Russell suggests the future remains bright.