With a note of caution from his club manager ringing in his ears, Lewis Macleod vowed to keep his mind on the job in hand after being surprised by his Scotland call-up.
Rangers' 3-0 win at Cowdenbeath, which took them to within four points at the top of the Championship, capped a marvellous day for the 20-year-old but he made it clear that he was determined to remain level-headed.
"I'm just delighted that we came here and won 3-0. That's the most important thing," said Macleod, agreeing with Ally McCoist that he had put in one of his quieter displays of the season so far.
He was, however, clearly excited by the opportunity that now presents itself.
"I didn't think would make it," he admitted.
"I was more focused on the under-21 squad, but when I heard this morning I was obviously delighted with the news and it will just been great to be involved and a great experience for myself.
"One of the main problems you find with young players is if you get carried away too quickly you start doing the wrong things.
"You've just got to continue doing the right things, working hard and keeping your head down."
Macleod admitted, too, to being "a wee bit" overawed by the situation, but reckoned that being surrounded by international players every day at Murray Park would stand him in good stead.
"I've always believed in myself," he said.
"There's obviously a lot of big names in the squad, but going into the game I'll be confident and I'll try my best.
"I've learned a lot already, but this is going up again. Most of these guys are playing in the Premiership and the [English] Championship week-in, week-out, so I'll learn a lot from them and that'll help me as a player."
His determination to stay focused is what McCoist wants to see from all of his players given the scope that emerged for distraction with the League Cup semi-final draw that pitted them against Celtic.
"I said immediately after the draw that as far as I'm concerned that's it until the game's played at the beginning of February because we've got massive games to play before then and tonight was one of them and it's a great message we've sent to everybody," he said.
He admitted he was thrilled, too, by the call-up for Macleod.
"It's brilliant, really great for him," said McCoist.
"I spoke to him today obviously and we're delighted. We've all got high hopes for Lewis without wanting to get carried away. The most important thing is that everybody calms down but we're genuinely pleased."
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