RECENTLY a startling thought crossed David Marshall's mind:

since Kenny Miller retired from the international scene he had probably been named in more Scotland squads, and been away on more international trips, than any other current player. At the age of 28, the Cardiff City player has only seven caps to show for a Scotland career which began more than eight years ago. But ask him to reveal how many squads he has been named in and he draws a blank. He has kept goal, but he has never kept count.

If the Scottish Football Association relaxed their rules for entry to the Hall of Fame, and allowed a player in if he had been selected for, say, 50 squads, Marshall would be in with all the greats. The ratio of appearances to squad selections is so unflattering because for almost a decade Marshall has been a back-up to either Craig Gordon or Allan McGregor.

He played against Belgium on Friday and will be in against Macedonia tomorrow night - his first ever back-to-back Scotland games - as Gordon and McGregor are unavailable because of long-term and short-term fitness issues, respectively. Being called upon when others are absent is a situation the Cardiff goalkeeper has always accepted with quiet equanimity.

"I watched Craig play for Scotland for four or five years and I don't think he made a mistake," said Marshall as the SFA party flew to Macedonia yesterday. "When you have someone like that ahead of you, all you can do is bide your time. It was the same when Allan came in after Craig picked up injuries. I was unfortunate that I wasn't playing [for the first team] at Celtic at the time. But when it's your country you just need to be patient. At club level you can try and move on if you're not getting a game but when it's Scotland you're just happy to be in the squad really.

"It's been a long time and I've not played as many games as I'd have liked. Recently I actually thought about how many squads I've been in, but I don't know, and I don't know who to ask to find out. With Kenny Miller retiring I am probably the record holder but you don't get into the Hall of Fame for that. It is a lot of travelling for little reward, especially when you've got kids and family. But the flip side is that the Hampden games are massive. Even the Holland game that I played in when we lost was a big highlight for me. I think that outweighs all the negative stuff."

Marshall has had a sporadic, unhappy Scotland career characterised by heavy defeats and an alarming goals-conceded-to-appearances ratio. His statistics are 19 goals conceded from seven internationals played and he has yet to enjoy a clean sheet. His games read like a catalogue of bleak disappointments: 0-3 v Hungary in 2004 under Berti Vogts, 1-4 v Sweden under caretaker Tommy Burns the same year, 0-4 v Norway, 0-1 v the Netherlands and 0-3 v Wales under George Burley in 2009, and 0-2 v both Serbia and Belgium under Gordon Strachan this year. Since 2004, and including caretakers, he has actually had more managers than games: Vogts, Burns, Walter Smith, Alex McLeish, Burley, Levein, Billy Stark and Strachan.

"In the games I've played we've not had very much joy," he said. "Hopefully, though, we can get a result on Tuesday. I'm just here for whenever the gaffer calls upon me. In terms of losing games it's been disappointing but I try and focus on how I performed, and get on with it. You obviously want to win games, especially for your country. But I've been reasonably happy with how I've played whenever I've been asked to. I feel in most of the matches I've done fine but the disappointment is that I want to win with Scotland."

Marshall is now a Barclays Premier League player and his early-season form - including in Cardiff's vivid defeat of Manchester City - meant Strachan had no qualms about selecting him as McGregor's deputy ahead of Matt Gilks or Craig Samson. Conceding almost three goals per game for his country has not perturbed the Scotland manager and, crucially, it has not affected the goalkeeper either. He remains the large, strong and calm figure he has always been.

"If I felt it was affecting me mentally, I would go and see someone [a sports psychologist] but it doesn't really affect me," he added. "I'm pretty happy with my form at club level. I just want to bring that on to the international stage."