Scotland forgotten goalkeeper speaks out on potential recall after years in wilderness

Scott Bain hopes to force his way back into the Scotland squad after “loving” life back as a first-team goalkeeper with Falkirk.

Bain ended a seven-year association with Celtic - predominantly as a back-up - last summer and joined the newly-promoted Bairns on a two-year deal. The 33-year-old quickly took over the gloves from previous Falkirk No 1 Nicky Hogarth and was part of the Falkirk team that earned a 1-1 Premiership draw with Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Following season after season as a reserve goalkeeper, Bain is revelling in the position of being the main man once more. "I love it here,” Bain said. “The dressing room's fantastic. It's nice to be in a dressing room where Scottish boys and you get a laugh, you get a bit of banter day and you kind of want to stay because there's always something going - but it's also a serious once you go to the training field.

Scott Bain has quickly established himself as Falkirk's No 1 keeper. | SNS Group

"As a footballer you're in a lot at times, there's not many days off. So to have that balance of right, you're on the pitch, it's serious and when you come off, you can have a bit of chat, you can have a laugh, you can play a bit of cards, whatever you want to do.

"I think we're working on something really good and we need to continue to do that."

Bain won the last of his three Scotland in 2019 when he played in a 2-0 win over San Marino. With head coach Steve Clarke admitting himself recently that he is not blessed with many goalkeeping options, the former Dundee and Alloa keeper was touted for a return to the international set-up for this week’s World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus, only for Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly and Craig Gordon to be picked ahead of him.

Not one of those three keepers are first choices for their clubs and the trio have all been on the sidelines since Scotland’s win over Belarus last month. Bain still harbours a burning desire to play for the national team.

‘If I could have picked it, I'd be in it’

“I feel like I'm playing well at the minute, making a number of saves,” said Bain. "All-round game, the way we play. It takes a lot to play here. That's one thing. You have to be good with your feet, you have to make the right decisions, you have to make big saves at times, so, I'm really enjoying that side of it, in a big responsibility for the team, but all I can do is continue to do that here.

"It's not up to me [being in the Scotland squad]. If I could have picked it, I'd be in it, but it's not up to me. We'll just see what happens. But all I can do is focus on here. It the decision for the Scotland manager and all I can do is continue to do what I'm doing here. I know there's another camp in another month. So he'll have a decision to making in another month, so we'll see we're at."

Asked what it would mean to him if Clarke returned him to the Scotland set-up, Bain replied: "It'd be great. I'm on my own little sort of focused journey at the minute where I've come out and not playing for a long time playing one, two games a season for the last sort of three, maybe even four years.

"So I've been taking it sort of day by day, game by game and credit to the manager [Falkirk’s John McGlynn], it took me a while in pre-season to start to get my eye in and get going. He stuck by me and he put me in and I'm just going into games and trying to sort of repay that faith, that he had in me. He seen something in me that he thought I could help the team and I feel like I'm doing that."

With Gordon recalled after nerve issues and a hamstring complaints at the age of 42, Bain knows that he has time on his side.

"Is that all he is, 42?” laughed Bain when discussing his former Celtic teammate. “I thought he was 48. Sorry, Craig. If you're doing the business, age has never been a problem, has it, really. So, I'm only 33. I feel good. The club's really looking after me in terms of making sure I'm right for games.

"So I like I said, I'm just enjoying having a purpose and going into training every day with the view to a game and how I can be better than the last game."