Simon Murray has admitted it would be “unbelievable” to pull on a Scotland jersey — but insists his only focus right now is helping Dundee fight for their Scottish Premiership survival.
The 33-year-old has been in sensational form this season, hitting 21 goals and providing a further three assists.
Without Murray’s contribution, Tony Docherty’s side, who currently occupy the relegation playoff spot, would almost certainly be doomed.
Such is the scale of his impact at Dens Park that his manager has publicly backed the striker to force his way into the Scotland setup, with Docherty calling on Steve Clarke to give the Premiership’s highest-scoring Scot his long-awaited chance.
“Simon is a pivotal player in the team,” Docherty said following Dundee's 2-0 victory over St Mirren on April 5.
“I said before about possible international recognition, and why not? He’s the highest-scoring Scottish player in the league right now. Every opportunity he gets, he scores.”
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Now Murray himself has addressed the growing calls for his inclusion, speaking to the BBC about what a maiden call-up would mean.
“It’s definitely an ambition,” Murray said. “From a young age, any player that wants to play football wants to represent their country, and it’s obviously something that would be unbelievable.
“But it’s not my full focus at the moment. I’m fully focused on helping Dundee stay in the Premiership. If I do that and I do my job, then whatever happens, happens.
“I’d never thought about it much, but obviously I’ve got some sort of recognition in the last couple of months. I just need to take care of my own performances and if recognition comes, that would be something great to look back on in the future.”
“Scotland have been doing so well," he acknowledged. " They got to the Euros, they’ve got top players in the English Premier League, and guys like Kevin Nisbet and Lawrence Shankland have done really well for season after season.
“It’s a tough squad to get into, but at the same time, I know I could probably add something to that. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and whatever takes place, takes place.”
For now though, with Dundee locked in a relegation scrap, Murray insists he’s keeping his focus on the task at hand.
"You can only concentrate on your own job and your day-to-day football with your club and as I say, it’s obviously a great honour for any player, but one that I’m not sort of focused on. I’m just focused on the here and now," he concluded.
