Ross Doohan has experienced the kind of international debut dreams are made of and it all started with a phone call in the middle of the night while on a family holiday in Turkey.
The 27-year-old, set to return to Celtic as the club’s new third-choice goalkeeper, was enjoying some time off with his family when Scotland came calling.
Just hours later, he was on a flight back to the UK to answer an emergency call-up ahead of the national side’s summer friendly.
Doohan was handed his first senior cap on Tuesday night against Liechtenstein, and he marked it with a clean sheet as Steve Clarke’s men cruised to a 4-0 win.
The Celtic-bound goalie revealed: [RecordSport]
“It’s a great feeling after that, obviously.
“It was a whirlwind couple of days, being on holiday with my family in Turkey when I got the call.
“It was Friday night UK time but it was Saturday morning in Turkey I got the first call. Twenty past one… I was in my bed so the number came up.
“Mark Leslie [sports science and data manager] made the call. As soon as I was asked about the call-up, I jumped at the chance.
“I got a flight straight away and met up with the squad. I left the family, yes!
“It was me, my brother, my mum and dad, my sister and her boyfriend. As soon as I got the call, I phoned my dad.
“Then my mum and dad came down to reception when I was leaving in the morning. My sister and her boyfriend woke up the next day and I wasn’t there.
“My mum and dad had to tell them I was on a flight home! So it was quite surreal but it was worth it.
“I texted my dad and spoke to my family after it. They were flying back from Turkey after the Liechtenstein game.”
It’s been a chaotic few days, but for Doohan, who now has one Scotland cap and one clean sheet to his name, it was all worth it.
He’ll soon be back with Celtic, at the club he rose through the ranks with. Kasper Schmeichel and Vini Sinisalo are firmly ahead of him in the pecking order, but he showed at Aberdeen last season that he can step in and perform when need be.
Scott Bain, who previously occupied the spot, has completed a move to Falkirk, joining the newly promoted side.
