Maloney had no qualms

Forward had no arguments about axe

By Amanda Cornforth   Last updated: 5th September 2008

Shaun Maloney Celtic

Maloney: Recall

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Scotland striker Shaun Maloney admits he was not surprised when he was dropped from the squad by manager George Burley.

Maloney did not feature in Burley's plans for last month's friendly against Northern Ireland due to a lack of first-team football with Aston Villa.

But he has now been recalled for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia on Saturday and Iceland on Wednesday after rejoining Celtic.

Maloney has completed 70 minutes of action since his return to Parkhead, which included playing a part in last weekend's Old Firm derby defeat to Rangers, and he is now keen to represent his country again.

Low

"When George first came in, the first game was the Croatia game and I started," he said.

"I wasn't playing regularly for my club and my confidence was pretty low, so it was a big boost for him to start me.

"But to be honest, I didn't do myself much justice in that game.

"From that game I knew I had to start playing regular football or I would find myself out of the squad.

"When it happened again this season, I didn't have any arguments about the manager leaving me out because he had every right to.

"The recall happened pretty quickly after the first game (for Celtic) so it was a nice surprise. I think I knew it was going to happen at some point."