Back to international week and you’d expect Celtic to essentially provide the spine of Alex McLeish’s Scotland side.

For me there was never a bigger honour than representing my country and I always felt lucky that I never had a manger who put any pressure on me not to go on international duty.

I actually feel that if you have a lot of players from your club off to pull on the shirt of their country that it is a reflection of the quality that you have within your team. I don’t understand why anyone would see it as something that it is a negative.

Of course, every club manager will say a prayer that each of his players will come back as they left and there are no injury problems but ultimately you can end up crocked anywhere and at any time.

This break should give the likes of Leigh Griffiths the chance to go and kick on and get himself back to full fitness.

There are two weeks now before the Hamilton Accies game and hopefully by then he might be ready to be thinking of getting the boots back on. Celtic have a glut of players in there and for me they all have so much to offer McLeish's side. For sure, though, I think James Forrest has to be in that starting line-up because he is playing out of his skin.