Callum McGregor has declared himself ready to make his first Scotland appearance against the Netherlands on Thursday night.
The Celtic midfielder was first called up by former national team boss Gordon Strachan in September, 2014 and was brought in for the World Cup qualifying double-header against Slovakia and Slovenia last month but has yet to feature.
However, after being included in stand-in manager Malky Mackay's squad for the challenge match against the Dutch at Pittodrie, McGregor believes the time is right for him to make his international debut.
Read more: ON THIS DAY: Five years on from the night Celtic and Tony Watt stunned Barcelona at Parkhead
The 24-year-old replied in the affirmative when asked if he was in the form of his life and insists Champions League football with Celtic over the past two seasons has bolstered his confidence.
"I feel ready to play," he said.
"It has been a really good period for me
"The last few times I have been here it has been great to be here but this time round I feel I can play a part.
"The big Champions League nights and doing well in them has given me the confidence.
"I feel a lot more ready to play a part.
"I think it is just confidence. Playing well and scoring in big games, it is all part of the learning process as a player.
"You are learning different sides to the game all the time and I feel for me, I am affecting big games and that is where the confidence is coming from, you feel as if you do.
"In the last 12-18 months I have been coming on as a player in every aspect of my game and seem to be doing well and hopefully that continues."
McGregor will take inspiration from fellow midfielder Stuart Armstrong who has made himself a mainstay after a debut against Slovenia at Hampden Park last March which was described by Strachan as "the best" he had ever seen from a Scotland player.
Read more: ON THIS DAY: Five years on from the night Celtic and Tony Watt stunned Barcelona at Parkhead
The former Celtic youth player, one of eight uncapped players in the squad, said: "It wasn't so long ago that he wasn't with Scotland.
"Since he came in he has been a massive part of it and everyone is talking about how good he has been.
" So certainly, for me, I can look at it and take confidence from that.
"It almost feels like a fresh start with so many different faces coming into the squad and we are starting to build for the next campaign.
"You could have picked easier games but you want to test yourself.
"But I am delighted to be part of the squad, it is a big honour and hopefully I get a chance on Thursday night."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel