Darren Fletcher says he is extremely humbled to be joining and surpassing some of Scotland’s greats in regards to international caps.
The 27-year old Scotland captain andManchester United midfielder will appear for the 55th time for his country against Lithuania tonight, equaling Denis Law and going past Billy Bremner and Graeme Souness.
Fletcher admits it is daunting to be among such Scottish football royalty but insists he is only looking to guide his country into the European Championships next year with a positive result at Hampden Park.
"It is humbling to be mentioned alongside those names,” he said.
"It's actually scary to think about because you are talking about legends of Scottish football.
"I used to live on the road opposite Denis so I would see him regularly. I'd be out walking the babies around in the pram and bump into him.
"He was my dad's hero, so I know all about Denis. As I said before, it's very humbling. It doesn't feel right that I've achieved the same number of caps.
"The manager still speaks about him and he is a legend at Manchester United, as well as with Scotland. It's nice to see your name beside those types of players.
"But I don't come up here to play in friendlies just to build up my caps. The reason I play for my country is not about visiting my family or building a total so that I can look back and say I had that many caps.
"It's about qualifying for a major tournament. I see the friendly matches as important preparation for the qualifiers that can take you to a major tournament. That's what I want to achieve in my Scotland career.
"I'll be disappointed if that doesn't happen but you have to keep fighting while it's still possible."
The 27-year old Scotland captain andManchester United midfielder will appear for the 55th time for his country against Lithuania tonight, equaling Denis Law and going past Billy Bremner and Graeme Souness.
Fletcher admits it is daunting to be among such Scottish football royalty but insists he is only looking to guide his country into the European Championships next year with a positive result at Hampden Park.
"It is humbling to be mentioned alongside those names,” he said.
"It's actually scary to think about because you are talking about legends of Scottish football.
"I used to live on the road opposite Denis so I would see him regularly. I'd be out walking the babies around in the pram and bump into him.
"He was my dad's hero, so I know all about Denis. As I said before, it's very humbling. It doesn't feel right that I've achieved the same number of caps.
"The manager still speaks about him and he is a legend at Manchester United, as well as with Scotland. It's nice to see your name beside those types of players.
"But I don't come up here to play in friendlies just to build up my caps. The reason I play for my country is not about visiting my family or building a total so that I can look back and say I had that many caps.
"It's about qualifying for a major tournament. I see the friendly matches as important preparation for the qualifiers that can take you to a major tournament. That's what I want to achieve in my Scotland career.
"I'll be disappointed if that doesn't happen but you have to keep fighting while it's still possible."
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