JAMES FORREST has praised club captain Scott Brown for his influence on the Scotland team.

And the Celtic winger insists that it is a major feather in Gordon Strachan's cap to have both him and Darren Fletcher vying to be skipper.

Brown has led out the Scots for the majority of the Euro 2016 games to date as Fletcher recovers from injury.

The performance of the national team under his guidance has been nothing short of superb, leaving the Dark Blues joint second in Group D along with world champions Germany and the Republic of Ireland.

However, it was West Brom midfielder Fletcher who was given the captain's arm band in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, with his Celtic counterpart spending the friendly on the bench.

It was a selection that opened up the debate over who will be the man to drive Scotland on this Sunday against Gibraltar, especially with the back drop of Brown's off-field controversy in recent weeks.

Forrest remains unmoved over who is skipper this weekend, however.

But the man recently recalled to the national squad has hailed the leadership credentials of Brown for both club and country.

"He's not any different to what he's like at Celtic, he's just the same at Scotland. Broony's the same with everybody," said Forrest of the man John Collins described last week as the ideal on-field captain for the Hoops.

"He helps the young boys coming through into the national team and he's good with the older ones.

"Broony has done really well for Celtic this season and I'm sure he'll continue to do that for Scotland as well.

"Both Scott and Darren have captained the Scotland team before, and to be honest I don't think it matters what one gets the nod as skipper.

"It is good for the squad that we have the two of them."

Forrest is one of three Celtic players involved in Strachan's squad this week, along with Brown and goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

The trio will be used to the pressure of being favourites for a match with their club and will need to replicate their application this weekend against lowly Gibraltar.

It is these experiences at club level Forrest is keen to drawn on if given the chance to perform.

The winger said: "We have more Scotland boys at Celtic than we ever had done before so it's good for the changing room at Celtic and it obviously benefits Scotland. Playing with a massive club helps you.

"To miss the end of last season and pre-season with Celtic was hard, but I knew I had to get myself fit and playing again.

"My goal was to get back in the Scotland squad and I've done that. I just need to keep working hard."

He added: "It is a hard game for the players and the staff because we haven't played them before. They will come here and try to make it difficult for us.

"We just need to get that first goal as early as we can."