Recalled Rhodes out to make his points

For football fans and players of a certain allegiance, it doesn’t get much more romantic than Scotland v the Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park.

Jordan Rhodes, though, the striker Gordon Strachan brought back in after 16 months out in the cold, reckons his personal affair of the heart has it beat.

While Shaun Maloney and the rest of his team-mates were edging the tightest of Euro qualifiers, he was down on one knee proposing to girlfriend Emma in Paris.

And, as he was happy to report, he got an equally successful outcome returning to Blackburn with a fiance in tow.

He might have taken the chance to make the most of an international break but he never gave up on his hope of a recall.

Summer 2016 won’t be a time for his impending nuptials; it has been left clear for Scotland to compete in the Euro Finals in France.

“I may not have been involved with the country recently but I have stayed relaxed because a lot of good things have happened for me in the last 16 months,” he said.

“For starters I have managed to get engaged since then.

“We were away in Paris. It was very nice and we made good use of the weekend.

“That was just one trip, the other times have just been with family and friends, watching the matches at home.

“In terms of Scotland I just kept thinking if I get called up then great it will mean I have been doing something right.

“If not, not to worry, I’ll keep working hard and try and improve.

“Now I am back in again and it is great to be back not least because it makes me think I might be doing something right for Blackburn.

“International football is never something that you can take for granted. You can never set your watch or clock by it.

“As a supporter, I am just like every other Scottish fan out there and I dream about being involved.

“It is a bonus coming up here, a massive privilege to play for your country, or even to be involved.

“The manager has got an abundance of players he can choose from so I am just happy to be in with a chance of playing against Gibraltar.

“As a striker, who loves scoring goals, it is type of game I relish but the main thing will be that whoever gets the jersey we get over the line and pick up three points to stay on track for the Euros.”