KRIS Boyd last night admitted there were years when it would have been pointless to pick him for Scotland because he had nothing to offer at international level.
The Kilmarnock striker did a round of media interviews yesterday as the national team flew to Norway for tonight's friendly in Molde, the game in which the 30-year-old could return after three years in the international wilderness.
Six goals in 12 games for Kilmarnock - and the unavailability of Steven Fletcher, Jordan Rhodes, Matt Philllips and Ross McCormack - resulted in Boyd being called in to manager Gordon Strachan's squad on Sunday night. Boyd will start tonight's match as a substitute but is likely to come on at some point for his 19th cap and the first since a Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechtenstein in September 2010. Scotland have played 30 times since then.
Criticism of his work-rate and fitness accompanied him at Rangers, Middlesbrough - where he was signed by Strachan - Eskisehirspor in Turkey and Portland Timbers in the United States, the clubs which preceded his return to first club Kilmarnock this year.
Boyd was asked if it had been hard to watch Scotland during that period when he was completely out of the picture. "It wasn't hard because I knew me coming along wasn't going to do anything to the squad," he said. "You've got to be playing regularly, scoring goals, and I wasn't doing any of that. I take great pride in coming along to represent my country and I wouldn't want to come along and make up the numbers. It wouldn't have felt right. So to be back playing regularly and getting a chance to represent my country is great."
Boyd has been stuck on seven Scotland goals since 2007, but remained entirely confident that if chances ever came his away again at international level he would put them away.
"If I didn't think that, I would have told Gordon I wasn't coming," he said. "The confidence has never left me. I know that if I'm given chances I will score goals. That's something I've had all through my career and it's not left me. It's about getting into positions to score. I wasn't fit enough before to get into those positions but I can now.
"I look forward to getting two minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes: if I get on at all I will enjoy it. It's a massive boost for me to be here but I want to be back known as an international player who is getting named in the original squads. That's the big goal for me now."
Encouragingly for Boyd, some of the most productive football of his career came while playing alongside the only other striker in the squad which landed in Norway at tea-time yesterday. His partnership with Steven Naismith was highly rewarding at both Kilmarnock, first time around, and Rangers.
"I had a good partnership with Kenny Miller and I think Naisy is very similar to Kenny," said Boyd. "He likes to drift into channels, go into the hole, and he's great with his feet.
"I like to be in and about the area. Maybe I'm not going to be doing the running that Naisy does but I can score the goals to make it a good partnership.
"It's the exact same as with Kenny Miller. They are both unselfish players and they make a lot of chances. They work their a**** off for 90 minutes and never give defenders a moment of peace. That makes it easier to get into the 18-yard box and get on the end of chances."
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