Tom Cairney is looking forward to taking on the Netherlands later today. He has Permiership experience and has played against some of the best the top league in England has to offer. He broke into the Hull side as a teenage midfielder when they were in the Premier League, making his league debut against Wolves in January 2010. The Tigers have since dropped down to the Championship but Cairney, speaking ahead of the trip to in Nijmegen where the hosts have won their first three Group 10 games and are hot favourites to qualify as winners, is determined to get back to the top flight.
He said: "It is every lad's dream growing up to play at the highest level but playing against teams like Chelsea and Man City at that age was so surreal. It was an amazing period. I was up against players like Lampard, Terry, Ballack and Tevez. You were standing next to them in the tunnel and thinking 'I played on FIFA (game) against you a few years ago, I shouldn't be stood here beside you right now'. As soon as the whistle went it went out of your head but it was an amazing time for me and my family. Once you have had a taste of the Premiership and everything that goes with it, there is nowhere else you want to be. We have a chance to go for promotion in the Championship this season and so hopefully we can get back there."
Despite speaking with an English accent, Nottingham-born Cairney was quick to underline his Caledonian credentials. He said: "My dad is Scottish, he is from Uddingston, while my mum is English. My dad always had me in the Scotland kit and we would come up and see my family in Scotland every summer during the holidays. My dad is as proud as he can be when I play for Scotland and I'm very proud. My mum is just happy that I'm playing - she hates it when I don't play!"
Scotland have managed to secure just five points out of a possible nine with home draws to Bulgaria and Austria either side of the expected win in Luxembourg. However, Cairney is confident that Billy Stark's squad can cause an upset against the strongly-fancied Dutch. He said: "It probably looks the hardest game in the group. They are expected to win the group but I feel we have enough talent in the squad to make an impact. We are definitely going there full of confidence and hopefully we can turn them over on their own patch."