SCOTT FOX knows he faces a tough task to reclaim his Scotland berth after an injury-hit campaign.

But the Partick Thistle keeper can take inspiration from a man who has made an even more remarkable recovery, and one he could set his sights on in the future if he is to become part of Gordon Strachan's plans again.

Fox was named in Strachan's squad for the friendly fixtures with the USA and Norway in November 2013, but has had little luck between the sticks since as a series of injuries and the form of Paul Gallacher has kept him sidelined for long spells of the last two Premiership campaigns. Having now won back his place, and kept successive clean sheets as the Jags beat St Johnstone and Inverness Caley Thistle before the international break, Fox is seemingly back on the right track.

The keeper watched on as Craig Gordon started the friendly win over Northern Ireland last week and David Marshall was handed the gloves for the European Championship qualifier with Gibraltar, and is keen to follow in the current Celtic incumbent's footsteps after he completed his own return to prominence.

"It's interesting with the competition going on at the moment between Craig Gordon, David Marshall and Allan McGregor," Fox said. "If something was to happen to one of them and there was an opening then I would hope to get back in, but there is a good group to choose from.

"Craig has done really well to come back after being out for that length of time. He always had the ability, but it just shows you how strong he is mentally as well. It's ridiculous that he's been able to come back and perform at that level. He was honest enough to admit that he thought he might never play again so it's all credit to him."

After a frustrating campaign, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Fox as he looks to recapture the form that marked him out as one of the finest keepers in the country. There are just eight Premiership encounters left this season - starting with the trip to Pittodrie this afternoon - as Thistle look to preserve their top flight status for another year.

Having replaced his mentor Gallacher on the park, Fox is now determined to play his part and remain in situ until the end of the season.

He said: "I'd be lying if I said that being out of the side wasn't frustrating, especially after being called into the Scotland squad at the start of last season.

"But now it's all about looking forward instead of looking back and all I'm looking to do is get a run of games under my belt.

"I'm aiming for 20 appearances for the season which, in the circumstances, wouldn't be too bad."

After helping Thistle claim their first successive league wins in two years, Fox will now look to shut out one of the best forward lines in the league at Pittodrie. Victory in the North East would be another significant step towards Premiership safety this term but the 27-year-old insists the Jags are taking nothing for granted in the battle to beat the drop.

"We're not safe yet," he said. "We've won three of our last four games but the teams below us have been on runs as well so we'll still be in it until we get another couple of wins. Until we're mathematically safe, we can't rest on our laurels - not with our luck. We've now got Aberdeen and Celtic away in our next two games but at least we can go into them with confidence after our recent results.

"It's about how we perform on the day. We don't look at the other teams. If we do well and they don't turn up or make a couple of mistakes then, hopefully, we can capitalise on that."