Dundee goalkeeper Scott Bain may have jumped for joy when he was last called up for Scotland but he is keeping his feet on the ground in the hope that it happens again.
Bain’s emotions went from one extreme to another last summer after he heard he had been called up by national coach Gordon Strachan for the friendly against Qatar and the Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
At the media conference to announce his squad, Strachan suggested Bain had been “jumping around the place” after being informed of his inclusion by club boss Paul Hartley.
However, it wasn’t long before delight was replaced by despair when the goalie had to pull out because of a knee injury and was replaced for the double-header by Kilmarnock’s Craig Samson.
Bain, however, remains in Strachan’s thoughts.
That much was evident on Friday night when the national boss sat in the Pittodrie stand to watch Bain shine like the northern lights in Aberdeen, producing a brilliant display despite finishing on the losing side.
With Strachan saying he is to name two different squads for the forthcoming friendlies against the Czech Republic away on March 24 and Denmark at home five days later, Bain should be confident of getting a second chance at international level.
The Dundee number one knew Strachan was looking on but he seems determined to play it cool this time around.
He said: “I have not really thought about it too much since I was in the squad the last time.
“I am just trying to play well every week for Dundee, which hasn’t been easy because the pitches have been tough for keepers.
“All I am doing is trying to do my best every week and if the Scotland thing comes then it comes.
“It was disappointing not to go away with the squad last summer but I couldn’t really be disappointed overall because I was thrilled to have been included in the first place.
“Hopefully, my performances will help me as regards Scotland.
“Mind you, I would have given up playing well against Aberdeen if we had managed to take points from the game.”
Bain will be in action again tomorrow night when the Dens men host Championship side Falkirk in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
He feels that, despite going down 1-0 to the Dons on Friday night, the Dark Blues still carry considerable momentum into the battle against the Bairns.
“We have won three out of our last five games so we are still positive,” said Bain.
“It will be tough against Falkirk but we did put in a good, solid performance against Aberdeen.
“We are down because we lost the game but we know we put so much into it so it’s not disheartening.
“Indeed, we have been pretty good over the past few weeks.
“We will have a recovery training session and then will be good to go again.
“I know Falkirk quite well, having played against them a few times when I was at Alloa.
“I know what they are about because it’s been much the same for a number of years.
“It will be another end to end match just like it was at Pittodrie but we know that, on our day, we are good enough to beat them.
“We have the quality to do that.
“We are quietly confident that we can go on a bit of a cup run but we have to get through Tuesday night before thinking about anything else.
“Once we get through that one then we can look to get as far as we can in the competition.”