Craig Bryson is determined to grasp the opportunity to impress on the international stage with Scotland in their upcoming friendly double-header.
Gordon Strachan’s side will take on Italy and France on Sunday 29th May and Saturday 4th June respectively as part of their preparations for the 2018 World Cup Qualifying campaign which begins in September.
Bryson, who was in fine form for Derby in the latter months of the 2015/16 season, is keen to add to his two international caps.
The 29-year-old has been called up by his country on a number of occasions but has, mainly, been an unused substitute.
The midfielder, who recently passed the 200 appearances mark for Derby since joining in 2011, says he is keen to prove his worth on the international stage.
He told Rams Player HD: “I hope to impress over the course of the time I’m with the squad and take it from there.
“It would be great to firm up my place in the Scotland squad because I’ve been in and out over the last few years.
“We have two tough games, against Italy and France who are preparing for the European Championship Finals, and it’s a time for boys like me to get a chance and show what we are about.
“Growing up a dream of mine was to play for my country and that hasn’t changed.
“I want to impress in the friendlies and then have a good 2016/17 season. I’ve only had a brief taste of the international stage and I want to show what I can do.”
Looking back on Derby’s 2015/16 season, Bryson admits that the Play-Off Semi Final ties against Hull City summed up the Rams’ season.
They were beaten 3-0 in the First Leg at the iPro Stadium, before staging a barnstorming comeback in the Second Leg at the KC Stadium which saw them lose out 3-2 on aggregate.
With one eye on next season Bryson, like a number of his team-mates, is adamant that the Rams need to be more consistent if they are to achieve Premier League status in the future.
He said: “Over the two legs it probably showed up how this season has gone for us; we have been inconsistent as a team.
“One week we were excellent and then one week off our game. We showed at Hull what we are capable and if we had played like that more we would have gone up.
“If you want to go up, you have to be consistent. If you have a dip, which all teams have at some point, you need to get out of it as quickly as possible. When we had ours in January and into early February, we were probably in it a little too long.
“We’re going to have to learn from the experiences. We want to get promoted and we’ll keep going at it to make it happen.”
