When Barry Robson joined Celtic last January, there were those who said that he would be nothing more than a squad player. The midfield player swiftly laid that theory to rest and now he plans to do the same for his country. If Scotland are looking for someone to symbolise that they are no longer willing to just make up the numbers, then Robson is the man.

The 29-year-old is involved in his fifteenth squad for the national team but, remarkably, he will earn only his third cap when he plays in tomorrow night's friendly against Northern Ireland at Hampden Park. Robson has had to be patient waiting for his club career to take off, never mind an international one, but his soaring stock means that he should be a key player for George Burley when the World Cup qualifying campaign starts away to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on September 6.

Scotland's absence from leading tournaments has been so long - the 1998 World Cup was the last participation - that Robson was in the Rangers youth team when the country last played in a finals. He has come back from being jettisoned by the Ibrox club to rebuild his career at Inverness Caledonian Thistle before a move to Dundee United eventually paved the way for that £1.5million transfer to Celtic.

The so-called “squad man” took one touch to make an impact, scoring from a free kick after coming off the bench away to Aberdeen in his debut and then scoring in the Champions League encounter with Barcelona. By May, Robson had an Old Firm derby-winning goal and a Clydesdale Bank Premier Leage medal to his name as he proved the pivotal influence that turned the title race Celtic's way.

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It is a far different Robson, in terms of stature, that stands before Burley this week compared to the player he gave a second cap to in May in the friendly defeat by the Czech Republic in Prague. Indeed, with other call-offs, Robson now assumes the mantle of an experienced character for the Scotland manager to utilise.

“We're missing three or four players but the bulk of the squad is here and a win would help to generate even more good feeling throughout the camp,” Robson said yesterday as the Scotland squad gathered at their Loch Lomond base. “The manager will be hoping to field as close a side as he can [for the qualifiers] from the players who are left. I don't know if I've established myself in the team - I believe you need to prove yourself every time you play.

“If you take your foot off the gas and don't play well then someone else will take your place. I've been in 14 squads and, although I didn't play too often under Alex McLeish, I could not complain too much because the team was doing so well. However, this is a new campaign with a new manager and we all have a chance to impress. It does not mean more to me that it's come so late in my career; it's a massive honour whenever it happens and everyone should think that way.

“When you're playing for top sides, whether it's Celtic or Scotland, then there's always going to be another good player behind you waiting to take your place. That's what football is all about at the highest level. I've certainly improved as a player since I joined Celtic. When I played for Dundee United, Craig Levein would tell me that if we didn't have the ball then I was to go and get it, wherever it happened to be.

“However, it is totally different when you go to a club like Celtic, especially if I play on the right. You need to be much more disciplined at the highest level. That can only help with Scotland because wherever I'm asked to play I've been well prepared and well drilled by Gordon Strachan.”

Robson was pretty much like the rest of Scotland during the roller-coaster Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. He sat back and watched, even if some of that was from close quarters or the Hampden technical area. “Some of our players were outstanding and I think that you can take some of the positives from those games into the next campaign,” he said.

“I thought we were extremely unlucky not to reach Euro 2008. We were unbelievable when we beat France away, but I'm hoping we can also carry a wee bit of luck this time. I've been very impressed by George Burley. He knows exactly what he's talking about and he's changed a few of the players in the squad. I've been attempting to impress him in training to make sure that he picks me.

“You need to keep the back door closed at international level. I know that we need to be a bit more outgoing but we were so close to being successful under the previous regimes. It's a balancing act but the manager knows that better than me. He'll know the way he wants us to play and, hopefully, that will take us that step further.

“When you look at this squad, you can see that we're organised and strong. We have players with experience of playing in England and we have the Old Firm guys who have appeared in the Champions League. This is the best squad that we've had for quite some time and the country is optimistic. I prefer to play in the centre of midfield but I'll play anywhere for my country: I'd play in goals if they asked me to.”