JOHN McGinn is hopeful his combative showing during a battle in Budapest will be enough to make him a midfield mainstay for Scotland.
After a brief cameo during last Friday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat against Costa Rica, the Hibernian midfielder was handed a starting berth against Hungary.
He rewarded boss Alex McLeish with a composed, tough-tackling showing alongside Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor.
Scotland's next friendlies will come on an end-of-season tour against Peru and Mexico on May 29 and June 2 respectively, as McLeish’s men continue to prepare for the Nations League which begins in September.
McGinn, who now boasts seven full caps, appears increasingly likely to be among the starters in the heart of the pitch.
He said: “I got a wee cameo against Costa Rica and, of course, you want to play longer. I just had to train well, stay involved and thankfully I got the start against Hungary.
“Hopefully, going into the games in May and June I’ll be involved and I’ll be looking forward to it.
“Cementing a starting place for the Nations League is the aim. We’ve got a lot of quality midfielders and even a couple of boys injured, so it’s just up to me to try to keep the jersey when I’m given the opportunity. I thought I did okay on Tuesday so hopefully I keep it going forward.”
McGinn reckons the "inconsistent" display by referee Harald Lechner on Tuesday night ensured the clash with Hungary was anything but friendly.
Nevertheless he did not shy away from the rough stuff.
He added: “The ref was very inconsistent. He let some things go, then pulled up people for other things.
"The result of that was a real physical battle – but that’s where I thrive. I enjoyed it."
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