Billy Dodds knew he had played his part but was not hugely disappointed when the call from Craig Brown did not come.
The selection process for picking the squad for Scotland’s last major tournament appearance, prior to next month’s European Championship, was almost done.
Dodds had appeared in qualifying games against Latvia and a double-header against Belarus, but acknowledges his appearances were more down to others’ misfortune.
He had a handful of caps heading into the France ’98 World Cup and was coming off the back of a season at Aberdeen where he had scored 12 goals in all competitions. The Dons had finished sixth in the top-flight.
But there was no hanging by the phone waiting for it to ring, to say he would be on the plane for France. Dodds, who has a strong relationship with Brown to this day, knew he was a man of loyalty.
Four of the five forwards who were picked went to Euro 96. Gordon Durie, Scott Booth, Kevin Gallacher and Darren Jackson kept their places, while Simon Donnelly of Celtic was the only new face.
“I just knew. When I was getting my three or four caps, that’s when people were injured,” said Dodds. “Then they were all back and I was unlucky with timing.
“I didn’t feel disappointed not to be going to France. I probably knew people were in front of me and if they were fit, they would go before me.
“Timing was the thing. I came on the next qualifying campaign and scored against Estonia. I never looked back and it was my time for the next five years.
“It’s not the way Liam Palmer, or Andy Considine or Lawrence Shankland will be feeling. I certainly wouldn’t have been as disappointed as them at the time.”
Dodds went on to establish himself as a Scotland regular in the aftermath of the tournament, with the qualifiers for Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands to begin.
He went on to make 26 appearances for the national side, scoring seven goals, and deliver some big moments for the Tartan Army.
“Craig and I are really close now,” Dodds added. “I was good for him and he was good for me. There’s a real respect there.
“Craig didn’t have to call me. I knew they were all fit again. I looked at the last league games – Gallacher was playing, Durie was playing. There was four or five strikers playing and all fit when it came to naming that France squad.
“You’re maybe hoping, selfishly, that one or two of them pick up an injury as I would have been in there. But I wasn’t hugely disappointed. My time came after that.”
He watched on with interest last week as Steve Clarke, his fellow Ayrshireman, followed in Brown’s footsteps by naming a major tournament squad.
There was disappointment for Liam Palmer and Aberdeen’s Andy Considine, who had been part of previous camps but told they would not be part of Scotland’s plans for the tournament.
Leigh Griffiths, Lawrence Shankland and Callum Paterson would also miss out, after playing their parts to get Scotland into the Euros.
The fresh-faced trio of Billy Gilmour, Nathan Patterson and David Turnbull made the cut. The 26-man squad allowed Clarke to bring along three faces who should have a big say in Scotland’s future fortunes.
“I can understand why he’s taken a few of the young boys,” he said. “With Kenny McLean going out, Ryan Jack going out, there’s a couple of extra places.
“I can understand why Nathan Patterson is going as well, but boys like Liam Palmer must be gutted – he’s been in all the squads then when it comes to the business end, he isn’t.
“It’s the same for Andy Considine, Callum Paterson, Lawrence Shankland. Squads change all the time; Craig Brown was one for rewarding loyalty and Steve Clarke has made some bold decisions.
“A lot of people have been pushing for those decisions and I wouldn’t argue with them whatsoever, because they’re going to be top players. Whether this is their team remains to be seen. They might play a huge part, you never know.
“You wouldn’t be surprised if they played a big part now, because they are that talented. I just wasn’t sure whether now was their time.
“The squad is so well-balanced. You can see he’s looked at every position. It’s a strong-looking squad with a mixture of experience and youth.”