Goalkeeper Craig Gordon wants his place in the Scottish football hall of fame after ending a four-year wait for his 41st cap.
The Celtic player’s appearance in Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat by England was his first for his country since facing the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie in November 2010.
Gordon, the former Hearts and Sunderland goalkeeper, spent two years out of the professional game because of a serious knee injury, prompting fears the 31-year-old might never play again, let alone feature for the national team.
The Edinburgh-born stopper has been in excellent form since signing for Celtic in the summer and ending his two years in the wilderness.
His first task in Tuesday’s friendly was to pick the ball out of his net after Wayne Rooney scored England’s second goal, but Gordon was pleased to be back playing at the highest level and now wants to earn a place in the hall of fame by winning 50 caps.
He said: “I’ve had to work so much harder for this cap than any of the 40 that went before.
“It was a long, hard road and hopefully this is the start of a new beginning. I hope I can continue on and get a few more.
“I had no chance whatsoever with the goal – the dive was for effect as I knew I would never get anywhere near the header.
“It was certainly not how I planned it, but I have to take the positives from the fact I was playing at all.
“Although the result hurt I’ll analyse it and feel I should be happy to be in the international fold and now I can look to progress.”
Despite his horrendous injury problems, Gordon said the thought of retiring from international football to prolong his club career never entered his mind.
He added: “I could have done that but getting back to international football was what drove me on.
“That was definitely a goal of mine – to get back with Scotland. I didn’t know where I would be playing my club football or if I’d have to drop down a level to get a club – I didn’t know the route, but playing for Scotland again was the one thing that kept me going.
“I didn’t have much of a chance to savour it – I was picking the ball out of the net after 90 seconds. But standing at the side waiting to come on was probably the moment when I knew it was going to happen.
“I turned round to see my mum, dad, wife and four-year-old girl up in the stand.
“I knew then that was me back as an international player.
“My aim was just one more cap to start with. Now I’ve got that, I’d better adjust my aims now. I want to get as many caps as I possibly can and this was a start.”