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SCOTLAND’S forgotten man. It’s hardly the kindest of descriptions but Jamie Mackie takes not the slightest offence over it.

How could he complain about being forgotten by his country at a time when his own club barely remembered he existed?

That’s been the way of things for most of Mackie’s 2013. And it’s why this softly-spoken Surrey lad has suddenly returned to the international fold with a spring in his step.

Mackie is through the worst of it now. A summer switch from QPR to Nottingham Forest may have spiked his Premiership ambitions for the time being but, more importantly, this liberating £1million transfer has ended the torment that was threatening to engulf him during his final few months at Loftus Road.

From November 2012, when Harry Redknapp first walked into a chaotic and ultimately ill-fated struggle to avoid relegation, Mackie was caught in the middle of a maelstrom.

All around him, bigger names with far fatter wage packets came and went in a constant, dizzying flurry of activity. But Mackie sat and watched from the sidelines as, slowly but surely, his club continued to sink itself.

His Scotland place disappeared without a trace too. Having been called up for Gordon Strachan’s very first squad to face Estonia at Pittodrie in February, Mackie has not been seen in dark blue since. With each snub he felt his own aspirations slip deeper under the surface.

And so, aged 27, Mackie realised the time had come for him to take matters into his own hands.

A three-year deal with Forest was agreed. And now, with a return to Strachan’s group for this latest World Cup double-header, his recovery is in full flow.

Mackie might be back in a familiar place but he’s a changed man.

He said: “I am delighted to be back. I have to be honest, there was a real concern that I was falling out of the picture completely. I wasn’t playing enough at club level, for whatever reason, so I could understand why I wasn’t involved in any of the Scotland squads.

“QPR were obviously bringing in a lot of players, so it was hard for me to play every week. And when you’re not playing for the national side – under a new manager – you do worry things might have changed.

“However, I worked hard, got my move and now things are looking up again. Scotland was a big part of my thinking behind the move to Forest. I wanted to be playing every week at club level and I knew I’d get the opportunity at Forest.

“I wanted to show Gordon Strachan I was playing to that I’d be noticed again.”

Job done.

Mackie netted his first goal for his new club against Bolton on August 17 – just four days after being left out of Scotland’s plans for a friendly with England.What he did not know at that time, however, was that veteran striker Kenny Miller was on the verge of hanging up his No.9 shirt. And that decision has changed everything.

Having marvelled at Miller’s Wembley performance, Mackie now has the chance to prove he is the ready-made replacement for this specialised, lone striker role.

The irony is not lost on him.

He said: “These things happen in football, things have a habit of changing very quickly. When they do, you have to try to make the most of them.

“I never once moaned about my situation at QPR even though it was frustrating to see other players get a chance ahead of me. I felt they were maybe playing on the back of reputations.

“It was obviously disappointing but I kept my head down and worked hard. I just needed to find myself a club where I could play every week and show that I was still a good player.

“But football goes round in circles and now it’s turned all the way back for me.

“I’ve got an opportunity now to stay in the squad. That’s what I want to do and hopefully it works out that way for me.

“All the time I’ve watched the Scotland games and spoken to the boys. I’ve been delighted for everyone how well things have gone recently. It’s been brilliant.

“I must admit, I was greatly surprised by Kenny’s decision to retire after the England game. I hadn’t spoken to him, so I didn’t know of his thought process.

“To see him score a fantastic goal at Wembley and play so well overall and know how brilliantly he has done throughout his career for the national team, I was stunned when the news broke while I was in the dressing room at Forest.

“It was a complete shock. To me it had just seemed that Kenny was going along very well and as fit as ever.”

Mackie doesn’t just want to be selected for Scotland squads. Nor will he be satisfied simply with a starting place in the team.

Of course, he says, he’ll play anywhere for Scotland, as was proved when Craig Levein gave him a debut at right-back, outside another right-back, on that awful night when strikers played as defenders in Prague.

Deep down, though, Mackie sees himself very much in Miller’s mould and he is striving now to nail down that position as Scotland’s first choice centre-forward.

He said: “I definitely think I can play up front on my own. I’ve got a lot of energy in my game, I can make runs in behind, I can come and hold the ball up.

“It’s a position where you can be frustrated because of long periods without possession, especially against top sides.

“But I’ve had that in the Premier League the last couple of years. So I think I have the qualities to play for Scotland up front on my own. I feel that I’m at my best up front.

“Hopefully if I do get the opportunity, the fans will see the best of me.”

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