Dorrans wants to be big in Japan
Graham Dorrans has set his sights on the Scotland national team after successfully forcing his way into the reckoning at Albion.
The 22-year-old midfielder believes he has come a long way since being plucked from Scottish First Division side Livingston and thrown straight in at the deep end in the Barclays Premier League.
Tony Mowbray – the man who brought him to the Hawthorns – may have since departed for Celtic but Dorrans has managed to remain in the first team since the arrival of new boss Roberto Di Matteo this season.
He is now hoping to take the next step and earn his first Scotland cap after being named in the squad that jets out to Japan later this morning for the friendly in Yokohama on Saturday.
He said: "It's great to represent your country, it's the chance I've been looking for. There are a lot of new faces in the squad, people like myself who are hoping to impress and be in future squads.
"I was in the squad for the last game against Holland and trained for a few days and, although I didn't manage to be involved in the final squad, the buzz around the place before the game was great.
"It's great to be involved and games like this are where I have to prove myself."
Dorrans' big break arrived when Mowbray signed him for the Baggies in the summer of 2008 and he is thrilled to have finally made the breakthrough, even though he is currently playing his football in the Championship.
He said: "It took me a while to get into the team down there but I've pushed myself and have done OK since I've been there.
"I can only keep on doing what I'm doing and prove my worth in the games that I play in. It has improved me massively down there.
"Tony Mowbray took me there and he was great to work under, the coaches were fantastic with me.
"The new gaffer was a fantastic player in his day and I'm always going to improve training under people like that every day."
Next up for Dorrans to impress is George Burley, who has once again endured a number of withdrawals ahead of this friendly.
"There are a lot of fresh faces, as well as people who have been in the squad for a few years," said Dorrans.
"Everybody wants to play but that's down to the manager. It's just great to be involved and be on the bottom rung of the ladder and show what I can do."
The only downside of the trip to Japan is the match will not be shown on television back home, meaning a blackout if he does make his international debut.
"Unfortunately friends and family won't be able to see it," he said. "My mum and dad go down the road for my games but that's as far as they will go!"
