JAMES McFadden is still, over 10 years on, reminded about the goal that he scored for Scotland in the famous 1-0 win over France in Paris back in 2007 on an almost daily basis.

“Everybody I meet still speaks about it,” said McFadden. “Even people I know and I haven’t spoken to for a while talk to me about it. It’s brilliant.”

Yet, when he looks back on his international career himself it is the defeats, the near misses, the glorious failures, which remain freshest in his own mind.

Being hammered 6-0 by the Netherlands 6-0 in Amsterdam in the second leg of the Euro 2004 play-off when they had one foot in the finals after a 1-0 win in Glasgow is one of them.

Crashing to a disastrous 2-0 reverse to Georgia in 2007 in their penultimate Euro 2008 qualifier in Tbilisi just when a place in Austria and Switzerland was within grasp is another.

The 34-year-old won the last of his 48 caps in a wretched Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechentenstein back in 2010 – he was substituted at half-time by then manager Craig Levein and later accused of being lazy.

McFadden is unable to atone for those disappointments, much as he might want to, on the field of play. But now he has been appointed to the Scotland backroom team he can do the next best thing. He intends to firmly grasp the opportunity by helping the national team end their agonising wait to reach a major tournament.

“I tend to look back to when we were so close to qualifying,” he said. “That game in Georgia sticks in my mind. That game is the reason we didn’t. We should have done better. Those are the wee things people maybe don’t look at. It is still there with me.

“I think I still need therapy about that Holland play-off. To go from being so high to so low in such a short space of time is incredible.

“We thought we were going to win after the first leg – not just the play-off but the whole tournament. We were saying: ‘We’re going to win this, look at all of these great players, we’ve beaten them’.

“Then they brought in this wee guy and we thought ‘that’s great’. But it was Wesley Sneijder. He absolutely ran the show.

“I remember looking up at the clock and there was 67 minutes played and I was 6-0. I thought: ‘How are we going to keep this down?’ We just wanted the whistle to blow and the game to be over.

“But that was also another occasion where we thought: ‘It’s alright, we’ll get another shot, we’ll do it the next time’. But it doesn’t come and we’re still waiting for it.”

McFadden added: “I think the importance now is that we don’t wait for it to happen – we make it happen and leave no stone unturned.

“We have to get the preparation right, but the players have to embrace it and believe and enjoy playing for their country. There is nothing better than going out there to play for your country with the whole country behind you.”

McFadden certainly played for his country with a smile on his face. That night in the Parc des Princes was far from the only highlight. His first goal for his country against the Faroe Islands at Parkhead in 2003 is a treasured memory. As are the strikes he netted in competitive fixtures against the Netherlands, Moldova, Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Iceland and Macedonia.

McFadden was a one off, a unique talent, a free spirit whose likes we will never see again. But he is convinced there are others, both in the Scotland squad at the moment and on the fringes of it, who are capable of supplying that moment of magic that unlocks an opposition defence. He intends to help them realise their potential.

He was aided greatly by the late great Tommy Burns when he first broke into the Scotland set-up under Berti Vogts – who memorably described the precocious Motherwell playmaker as his “cheeky boy” - and then Ally McCoist when Walter Smith took over.

He is hoping to perform exactly the same role with the likes of Ryan Christie, Jason Cummings and John McGinn, young players who have all been capped, now he has joined Alex McLeish’s coaching staff.

“I don’t look at myself as an inspiration, but I have been there,” he said. “I have been part of the squad and now there are a lot of young players in the squad. Some are a bit unknown in terms of not being orthodox. I certainly wasn’t myself.

“I feel as though I can relate to the players. It is all about encouraging them to come here and play their best without any fear. Obviously, the pressure is there but that is part of the job.

“I want to help them believe in themselves that they can go and make a difference for Scotland. Hopefully, the ultimate aim is to carry the nation to the tournament.

“When I came through as a Scotland player, Tommy Burns was there. He was excellent and then Ally McCoist came in as well. I’ve got to be there for everybody, helping the manager wherever I can and hopefully helping the players come into the squad.

“That’s the challenge. We love a maverick and someone who’s a wee bit different. So it’s up to the guys in this squad to step up to the plate. Leigh Griffiths is obviously not in this squad because he isn’t fit, but he will be in squads in future. So I’m sure he will want to be that player because we all know how he approaches the game.

“We want to see exciting football. We want guys playing with confidence, playing with a swagger and trying to do well.”

McFadden, who has brought his playing days to an end after 18 years in order to concentrate fully on his new role, is overjoyed to get the opportunity to help Scotland qualify for the Euro 2020 finals, which will be partially staged at Hampden, and believes he can succeed as a coach where he failed as a player.

“I cannot stress how proud I am to be here,” he said. “Never in my wildest dreams growing up did I think I would play for Scotland. No matter how much belief I had as a player, I didn’t dream too far ahead.

“Now I really believe that we can go on and achieve something special here. To be part of that, would be absolutely fantastic for me – but most importantly for the fans.

“We are here to give the fans a bit of hope. There is a chance to get to a tournament that has games at Hampden, which is something that has never happened before. We hope we can go and achieve.”