Celtic keeper Scott Bain believes that the Scottish Hoops can inspire Alex McLeish's side this week as the national side face up to Nation's League game against Albania and Israel. Craig Gordon withdrew from the squad after suffering from a hip problem but James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney are all expected to feature in the double header.

Bain himself received a late call up last night to take Gordon's place and he expects that the Celts within the national team can have a positive influence.

“You can really see when the Celtic boys play for Scotland there is a real energy and desire," said Bain. "You see the workrate and it would be good to see them involved in these internationals." That sentiment was echoed by Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers who saw his side return to the summit of the table on the back of yesterday's 0-0 draw with Livingston.

"We hope they all come back from international duty fresh and fit and we’ll look forward to a busy but exciting period between now and the mid season break," said Rodgers. "So it’s looking really good for us.

"The beauty of those who are available is they all want to go. These are guys who side I’ve been here I’ve seen their passion for playing for their country – Tierney, McGregor, Ryan who’s now in the squad, Forrest. They are all players who want to play for Scotland." Meanwhile, Bain has revealed that he always feels ready to deputise when called upon because of the standard he is exposed to daily at Lennoxtown. The keeper was handed the gloves for yesterday's games in the absence of Gordon, an appearance that came on the back of his 90 minutes in the semi-final of the Betfred League Cup semi-final win over Hearts a fortnight ago.

“It’s not really the case I need games to get sharp," he said. "I train with the best players in the country every single day. "I’ve got the best goalkeeping coach in Stevie Woods and I’ve got people like Craig Gordon to work with.

“Mentally and physically I am sharp and I’ve got everything I need to keep me ticking over until I get the call to play.

“It was good to play. It’s always good to play for this club.

“It wasn’t an easy game to come in to. The first 10 minutes really set the tone. They were getting balls in to the box from wide areas and made it difficult for us.

“We went in to the details before the game about their style of play and the fact they’ve scored eight goals from set pieces this season.

“We knew what was coming but dealt with their threat and took it away from them by the end of the first half." The result was not what Celtic would have wanted from Livingston but having got themselves back on top, Bain anticipates that Celtic will return from the international break ready to kick on.

"The last few weeks we have set a really high standard," said the stopper.

“Now we have got to the top we want to stay there. We’ve got the international break but we’ll come back refreshed an ready to kick on again.

“The standard’s been exceptional in recent times. The boys deserve a lot of credit because it’s not easy to keep that up every week.

“We wanted three points at Livingston but it was a difficult place so we take the point and the fact we’re top of the league and move on.

“I thought we played very well considering the conditions and the surface.

“The boys did pretty much everything apart from score. By the end we could have had the three points.

“You can see why they have done so well under Gary Holt. It’s a difficult place to go to with the tight pitch and the surface.

“They get right on top of you, but we handled it pretty well."