Rangers midfielder Connor Barron is eyeing a dream finish to the season, with his sights set on securing the Scottish Premiership title and earning a spot in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the World Cup this summer. Barron, 23, made a significant impact in the early days of Danny Röhl's tenure as Rangers head coach but was sidelined for over two months due to a knee injury. Before his injury, Barron received consecutive late call-ups to the national team in October and November, playing a part in the squad that achieved a historic World Cup qualification with a 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park. Since his return in mid-March, Barron has been limited to substitute appearances for his club, with January signing Tochi Chukwuani preferred as the midfield partner of Belgium international Nico Raskin.
However, Barron is determined to contribute to the title race and catch Clarke's eye ahead of the trip to the USA. The path to the Scotland squad won't be easy, though, as central midfield is a crowded area. Napoli's title-winning duo, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, are likely to be on the plane, along with fellow Serie A star Lewis Ferguson.
Aston Villa skipper John McGinn, Bournemouth's Ryan Christie, and teenager Lennon Miller, who has featured in 14 of Udinese's last 15 matches, are also Premier League regulars and Scotland stalwarts. In March, Clarke named eight midfielders in his 26-man squad for World Cup warm-up friendlies against Japan and Ivory Coast. Assuming no injuries and the same squad split, Barron will be competing for the eighth spot.
His competition includes Andy Irving, as well as an uncapped quintet of domestic players: Josh Mulligan, Elliot Watt, Marc Leonard, Luke McCowan, and David Watson. With intense competition for places, Barron 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. For Barron, making the World Cup squad would be a dream come true. "It would mean everything to me.
My debut was a moment I'll never forget. It's one you always dream of as a young boy to go and pull on that Scotland shirt and represent your country. If I could go and do that again, then that would be a dream come true." Rangers held their nerve on Sunday, coming from behind to win 6-3 away at Falkirk after both of their title rivals won the previous day.
This victory could have greater significance given the match schedule and the order of the scoring. With five games remaining, Rangers are one point behind leaders Hearts, and Barron believes they have the right attitude 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.
"We've definitely got the right mindset, everyone's pushing in the right direction, everyone's hungry to go and win the league, and hopefully we can go and do it." Barron came on as a substitute for the final 13 minutes of Sunday's victory and is hoping for more first-team opportunities in the run-in. "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 told Sky Sports News.
"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."