SCOTLAND defender Russell Martin is used to Gordon Strachan's side getting ignored in England, but he insists qualifying for Euro 2016 will make them sit up and finally take notice.
The Norwich City defender has just helped new manager Alex Neil reach England's top flight after this week's Wembley play-off final win against Middlesbrough.
And he has no doubt he owes a lot of his success to his time in the national team, with Martin now an automatic pick for Strachan. The centre-half will dust himself down after this week's success and focus all his attention on next month's Euro 2016 clash in Dublin against Ireland.
And he is quick to point out how much playing for his country means. "Winning at Wembley obviously makes it easier to play on and lift yourself for a huge international challenge," Martin said. "I'll be going there absolutely buzzing. I just want to go away, win another two caps - and hopefully another two wins. We've started the group really well, we all know this is a huge game in this group. How can you not be excited by it?
"I'll be honest with you, not many people take notice of Scotland down here. I'd like them to, because I don't think we get the respect we deserve as a national team, not down here. I think the way we've been playing over the last 18 months has certainly helped me. Playing for Gordon Strachan, the confidence he's given me, I'm playing centre-half every week for Norwich now - and that's because of my exploits with Scotland.
"So being a Scotland player has been huge for me, career-wise. And you can't underestimate the confidence you get from playing on the international stage, taking on quality teams in great stadiums all over Europe - and getting good results.
"I always speak up for Scotland. I'm not saying folk in England are derogatory, exactly, but sometimes it's just like they say, 'oh yeah, you got a good result' - as if it wasn't really anything.
"So sometimes we just don't get the credit we deserve. When you go away to Poland, beat Ireland, it doesn't really catch their attention. That's fine. As long as we get through it, we know how hard we've worked, how much we've improved. And that's down to the manager, who has been brilliant with me - as good as the club manager has been.
"I hope we can qualify and force people to take notice of us. People can't fail to notice us if we reach a major finals. And I'm really confident we can do it. Especially if we win this one."
And the 29-year-old stopper knows a win in the Aviva Stadium would top off an outstanding year for him and his country.
He said: "It will be a great game to play in. The Aviva is a great stadium, we know it's going to be packed with a great atmosphere. We'll maybe need to ride the storm a bit and then play our football.
"This could be one of the best years of my life, getting into the Premier League and getting close to qualifying for a major finals. It's been a long old slog, but winning the play-off final makes it worthwhile.
"That was really up there, in terms of life experiences. To lead a team up the steps at Wembley was one of the proudest moments of my career.
"Win in Ireland now and that puts us in a great position in the group. Next year could be even better - staying up in the Premier League and playing in the European Championship in France."
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