Rangers midfielder Connor Barron is eyeing a perfect end to the season, with his sights set on winning the Scottish Premiership title and earning a spot in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the upcoming World Cup. Barron, 23, has recently recovered from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for over two months. Prior to his injury, he had been in impressive form, earning consecutive late call-ups to the national team in October and November.
He was part of the squad that secured a historic World Cup qualification with a 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park. Since his return in mid-March, Barron has been limited to substitute appearances for Rangers, with Tochi Chukwuani preferred as the midfield partner of Nico Raskin. However, Barron is determined to play a key role in the title race and catch Clarke's eye ahead of the World Cup.
The Scotland squad is stacked with talent in central midfield, including Napoli's Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, as well as Premier League regulars John McGinn and Ryan Christie. Barron faces stiff competition for a spot in the squad, but he believes he can bring energy, composure, and tenacity to the national team. "I think I could bring my energy, composure on the ball, and tenacity off it.
There's a lot of things within my game that I feel I could bring to the team," Barron told Sky Sports News. With five games remaining, Rangers are one point behind leaders Hearts, and Barron is confident that the team has the right mindset to cope with the demands of a three-way title scrap. "We've got a really strong group, we've come through a lot this season, and we're in a great position at the moment," he added.
Barron is hungry for more first-team opportunities in the run-in and is eager to prove himself. "Yeah, it's obviously good to be back, good to be back on the pitch, training and being involved in the games as well," he said.
"So yeah, I'm just hungry for more. I'm ready and just need to keep going, showing what I can do and keeping my standards high every day to get myself back into the team."