Hearts' Jamie Walker eyeing a Scotland call-up

Jamie Walker hopes that, by maintaining his strong Hearts form, he can earn a Scotland call-up

The 23-year-old is eager for an international call-up to follow in the footsteps of Paterson and Hamilton.

Paterson is now national coach Gordon Strachan’s preferred choice at right-back ahead of Alan Hutton. Hamilton is currently third-choice goalkeeper behind David Marshall and Craig Gordon.

Walker wants to join them and earn recognition at senior international level after playing for Scotland at every age level from under-15 to under-21. He admitted his form at Tynecastle will dictate whether he can make the breakthrough.

“You want to play at the highest level. To represent Scotland would be massive. I just need to keep playing here, hopefully keep finding the net and playing well. You never know where it might take you,” said the winger.

“Credit to Callum, he’s done very well over the past few seasons here. Since he went into the national team, he’s done really well. It just shows that, if you’re playing well and scoring goals, you can get the call-up.

“Callum’s still young and it’s quite a big step up but the more he plays at that level, the better he’ll get. I think he could be the right-back for Scotland for a few years to come.

“I’m happy for Callum and Jack, who has been away with the national team. I’d like to go as well so I’ll just keep plugging away and see where it takes me.”

Paterson played in Scotland’s 1-1 draw with Lithuania and the 3-0 defeat in Slovakia, results which have seriously damaged World Cup qualification hopes. Walker said his club colleague will benefit from the experience, though.

“Sometimes you learn more from getting beat than winning every week,” he commented. “Even going away with the national team is a good experience. He’ll be training with players who are playing down south and playing abroad. That’s going to help him a lot and hopefully it can help us.”