THERE will have been many a Scotland fan watching the performances put on by the national side against Kazakhstan and San Marino last week and thinking they could have done a better job, but one man who might have had more right to think so than most is Motherwell full-back Richard Tait.

Tait would never cast aspersions on fellow professionals, but he admits the presence of Premiership contemporaries like Kilmarnock’s Stephen O’Donnell in Alex McLeish’s Scotland side has inspired him to believe he could also push his way into the reckoning.

And there is no doubt in his mind that if a call-up does arrive, he can certainly contribute to the cause.

“I keep saying it would be a great honour if I ever got selected but till that day comes I’m concentrating on what I’m doing for Motherwell,” Tait said.

“I think any Scottish player in the league would want to play for Scotland. If they don’t then there must be something wrong with them.

“There’s definitely an opportunity there but I’m focused on playing as well as I can for Motherwell and if it comes from that then great.

“Do I think I could have contributed? Of course I do. But the players who were selected to go and play in those games could easily have won those games and could easily go and win the next six games for Scotland.

“People jump on players and managers for two bad results. There are a lot of games to. Just settle down a little bit.”

Tait’s manager Stephen Robinson believes that the consistency and quality of Tait’s performances deserve recognition, and he would love that to come in the form of international honours.

“I’ve not doubt he can play for Scotland,” said Robinson. “Obviously they’ve got good players in front of Richard as well, but all he can do is keep playing as well as he’s been playing.

“He’s mister consistent, a fantastic player and a super example to our young players coming through.

“Maybe his quality doesn’t get noticed as much but he’s got a lot of quality on the ball and there’s no reason why he can’t be called up.

“We’ve not got a massive amount of players in that position but Alex knows his job and his players so it’s not for me to tell him who to pick and who not to pick, but in my opinion he’s a very good player.

“I can’t speak about Scotland but he’s very respected at Motherwell. He’s a very valued member of the team here.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve. If you’re a fan of watching Richard play you know that good or bad he’s giving you absolutely everything.

“He’s a player who has run himself into the ground and that has to be admired.”

Motherwell go into this afternoon’s match against St Johnstone at Fir Park knowing that they must get the three points to keep their slim hopes of a top-six finish alive.

“It’s a big game and we need a win,” he said. “St Johnstone had a good result during the week which puts them above us and all of us are fighting to get that last place in the top six.

“It’s a big game and one we’ll go in very positive with. We’ll be very aggressive in terms of how we play, and we’ll try and take the game to them.”

Chris Cadden is in contention for the squad after playing an hour in a reserve win over St Mirren in midweek, but James Scott will miss out after picking up a calf strain in training.

Meanwhile, Jake Hastie has still to decide on his future despite reports claiming he had agreed terms on a switch to Rangers.