Rangers midfielder Connor Barron, 23, is aiming for a “perfect” end to the season by helping his club win the Scottish Premiership and earning a place in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Barron was influential early in Danny Röhl’s tenure as Rangers head coach but missed more than two months with a knee injury. His pre-injury form had brought consecutive late national-team call-ups in October and November, and he was part of the wider group when Scotland secured World Cup qualification with a memorable 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.
Since returning in mid-March, Barron has mainly featured from the bench, with January signing Tochi Chukwuani the preferred midfield partner for Belgium international Nico Raskin. Barron is determined to force his way back into the starting XI during the run-in and catch Clarke’s eye ahead of the trip to the USA.
Central midfield is one of Scotland’s strongest areas. Napoli duo Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn, Ryan Christie and youngster Lennon Miller are among those likely to travel, with Kenny McLean also remembered for his famous qualifying strike. In March Clarke named eight midfielders in a 26-man squad for friendlies against Japan and Ivory Coast—McTominay, Gilmour, Ferguson, McGinn, Christie, Miller, McLean and Andy Irving—leaving an extra spot Barron will be fighting for.
Barron’s competition for that eighth midfield spot could include Irving and several uncapped domestic players: Josh Mulligan (Hibernian), Elliot Watt (Motherwell), Marc Leonard (Hearts), Luke McCowan (Celtic) and David Watson (Kilmarnock).
On what he can offer Scotland, Barron told Sky Sports News: “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. It’s just down to me performing and getting in the door and hopefully playing.” He described his Scotland debut as “a moment I’ll never forget” and said making the World Cup squad would be a dream: “The opportunity to get to a World Cup was great back in the Denmark game… it’s been a target ever since then to get into the squad in the summer.”
Rangers remain in a tense title fight. They came from 2-0 down to win 6-3 at Falkirk—three points gained the day after Hearts and Celtic also won—and with five games remaining sit one point behind leaders Hearts. Barron believes the squad has the right mentality: “We’ve got a really strong group… everyone’s pushing in the right direction, everyone’s hungry to go and win the league.” He added that winning the title and making the World Cup would be the “perfect end to the season.”
Barron came on for the final 13 minutes at Falkirk and is hoping for more first-team opportunities in the run-in. Reflecting on his injury layoff, he said: “It’s obviously good to be back, good to be back on the pitch, training and being involved in the games as well. 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.”