Liam Kelly insists he’d rather sit on the bench at Rangers than make up the numbers in the Scotland squad.
The former Motherwell captain was faced with a huge decision in the summer when he was offered a return to Ibrox to act as deputy to Gers No1 Jack Butland. The 28-year-old knew he’d be giving up not only regular action and the armband at Fir Park but also his place in Steve Clarke’s national team.
But in the end it proved to be an easy choice for the Ibrox academy graduate as he signed a two-year deal with Philippe Clement’s side. While he’s happy to be back at the club he joined first time round aged just eight, Kelly’s cap career has stalled. The keeper – who made his one and only Scotland appearance in a friendly defeat to France last year – hasn’t been selected for national team duty since joining Clarke’s side in Germany for the July’s Euros. But he knew all along that was always the risk in returning to Rangers.
Kelly – who finally made his Gers debut in Saturday’s win over Dundee – said: “I wasn’t playing for Scotland, so I wasn’t giving up playing. Me and Angus Gunn, who was the No1 at that time, are the same age. So if he’s going to be there and I’m not going to play, then do I give up?
“Do I say no to Rangers in the hope that I stay in a Scotland squad to sit and watch? I must say, I absolutely loved my time at Scotland. I would love to be back in the squad, I loved it — but I couldn’t say no to Rangers.
“I sat on the bench for a lot of games with Scotland, went to a major tournament, which I’m so grateful for. But I couldn’t say no to Rangers on the basis of being able to sit and watch Scotland.”
Kelly got the moment he’s been waiting two decades for as he was handed his first Gers run out against Tony Docherty’s team on Saturday. But he knows Butland – who missed the game to attend the birth of his fourth child – remains the main man at Ibrox.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Jack,” he said. “He’s an unbelievable goalie, he’s definitely the best goalkeeper in the league for me. He’s got everything when I train with him. Obviously, I’ve worked with a lot of goalies in my time.
“Really good taking cross balls, really good kicker, great shot-stopper, great communicator, right foot, left foot. I am a huge fan of him. Really good guy, we’ve got a good relationship. The goalkeeping group is really close and really strong. We do a lot of work with Colin Stewart, the goalie coach. Mason Munn and Lewis Budinauckas are in training as well. The goalie department is in a good place.”