I found Scotland duty a slog at times but Steve Clarke has put the fun back into the national team - Barry Ferguson

There's a funny thing about being a Scotland player. On the one hand, it’s everything you ever dreamed of. The ultimate honours for any young kid who was brought up to live and breathe football in this country. The immense pride you feel pulling on the dark blue shirt for the first time is almost impossible to explain. And it never goes away no matter how many caps you’re lucky enough to pick up over the years.

On the other, when things are going badly, it can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. I’d never say I dreaded getting that call up. Of course I didn’t. But there were times when I knew it was going to be an absolute grind. When it felt as if all the fun had gone out of playing football. As much as I loved representing my country, I have to admit I didn’t always enjoy it.

Ten days away from your family. Training, eating, sleeping. Stuck in a hotel room, climbing the walls until game day. It’s not easy, believe me. If the results and performances are poor you know you’re going to be panned in the papers and slaughtered by the supporters.

There were times, under the likes of Berti Vogts or George Burley, when the players were thinking to themselves, ‘What are we getting next?’. We had no real structure. Players were coming and going out of every squad. There was no sense of togetherness or consistency. And, all the while, we’d know we would be thrown to the lions if it all went tits up out there on the pitch.

Honestly, does that sound like fun to you? On the flip side, the most enjoyable time we had as a squad was when Walter Smith took over from Berti and started turning us into a proper team. We may not have been great to look at but by God did we know what was expected of us every time we