EVENTS in Novi Sad on Tuesday night left most Scots shifting uncomfortably, although Kris Boyd may simply have been moving into position.
The striker had a habit of making the most of any sign of vulnerability while with Kilmarnock and Rangers and that instinct was roused by the sight of a Scotland team lying prone by the side of the Road to Rio after their World Cup hopes crumbled in Serbia. Despite fans regarding the national team as a busted flush, Boyd is willing to go all in.
The 29-year-old has not been seen in a Scotland shirt since a qualifier with Liechtenstein back in 2010 but he has come to see value in retracing his past. It was that which convinced Boyd to agree a return to Kilmarnock until the end of the season, his career having lost its way as he wandered between clubs in England, Turkey and the USA.
Rugby Park has not yet offered much of a stage on which to prove his aim is still true – Boyd remains the leading scorer in the Scottish Premier League history – but he is likely to be given a start against Ross County today as Paul Heffernan is suspended and Cillian Sheridan is struggling with injury.
"[Dingwall] is a place I've never been," said Boyd. "I need to get back playing here at Kilmarnock and scoring goals. I've tasted it, I've played with Scotland on numerous occasions and scored goals at that level. I know I can do it.
"It's a matter of getting myself fit again. You don't lose anything you've got ability-wise, it's just working on the fitness. Between now and the end of the season, hopefully I can get the games."
Boyd counts himself among the list of those who have contributed to the malaise at international level. In Gordon Strachan, who managed Boyd at Middlesbrough, the striker believes his country are in good hands. "You can only change managers so often; it lies with the players," he added.
Placing such an accent on disappointment will sound strange to those in the Highlands, a region which has been insulated by their clubs' success. County, for example, are on course to ending their inaugural season in the top flight within the top six and it is not so far fetched to imagine a enduring push for a Europa League place.
"We always knew we had quality in the squad," said Richard Brittain, the County midfielder who returns to the squad for the visit of Kilmarnock. "It was just getting one or two breaks along the way and we've had that. You look at where that has carried us but we've put in a lot of hard work since the end of last season.
"The work isn't done yet. There is still a lot of football to be played and a lot of things to play for."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article