Kevin McNaughton was once branded too nervous to play for Scotland but is now hoping to put those dark days behind him and finally make his mark on the national team under new boss George Burley.
The defender was set to earn his first cap in Berti Vogts' first game against France back in 2002 but the German boss left him on the bench instead because of perceived nerves in a training session beforehand.
A reasonably successful debut followed against Nigeria but McNaughton felt the brunt of Vogts' criticism again when he was substituted during a 1-0 defeat to Denmark, with the German again questioning his ability to handle the occasion.
The outburst prompted Aberdeen, McNaughton's club at the time, to formally complain to the Scottish Football Association about the conduct of their national team coach.
"It wasn't a nice time for me," recalled McNaughton, now at Cardiff. "When you go away with Scotland you want to take good memories away with you. But the first few trips weren't great for me.
"My first cap was probably my best. I played at Pittodrie and played reasonably well against Nigeria. I thought I had put it (France) behind me.
"Then in the Denmark match I got taken off at half-time and it was the same old comments which was disappointing. It's not something I talk about too often. When I moved down south I was able to get a clean slate."
McNaughton believes Vogts' handling of the situation was all wrong at the time, adding: "I remember the training session and I didn't have a good session but he never actually approached me.
"That was the most disappointing thing throughout. I read it in the newspapers. You expect the manager to come and speak to you about these things if he has a problem with you.
"If there's a confidence issue then you would hope and expect him to come and talk to you about it."
McNaughton recently came through the biggest game of his career so far when Cardiff faced Portsmouth in the FA Cup final.
He admits there were nerves but insists such emotions are all part and parcel of being a professional footballer.
"I was nervous before the FA Cup final and didn't think I played particularly badly," he said ahead of this week's friendly with the Czech Republic.
"I wasn't down in the toilet being sick or anything. Just a few butterflies and then you get on with it, it's just your body preparing for a big game."
McNaughton suffered injury problems during Walter Smith's tenure and was forced to pull out of Burley's first squad against Croatia after tearing his hamstring.
Now, looking ahead to Friday's match in Prague, he said: "The hard work starts now really.
"Getting into the squad is tough enough with the way the team's been playing. The hard work then is to establish yourself and hopefully get a chance. Nobody has got a divine right to be thinking, 'I should be playing.'
"It's up to the manager to make the decisions. It will be difficult for the manager to leave out the big guys who have maybe been injured.
"But, if you do well, then it does give you a great opportunity. Whether you can get established is another thing altogether, especially going to play a top-quality side who will be taking it very seriously."
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