"I always thought if I kept playing and kept performing it would come. Thankfully it has," James Penrice said after his first Scotland call-up at 27. He added that it has been a slow rise, and the route makes the selection feel earned rather than rushed.
The route from part-time football
Penrice said there was a point at Partick Thistle when the club dropped down to League One and he thought he was done. Covid pushed him into thinking about courses and life after football before Livingston revived his career. He has since built himself back into view, with 10 Premiership appearances for Rangers this season and a 6.84 rating in the league.
He also spoke about how football can push younger players into believing the door is already closing. "I think you see nowadays that there's 17, 18-year-olds winning World Cups, and I think boys when they get to 21 or 22 they think their career's done," he said. His point is hard to ignore when the payoff arrives this late, after the spells he has described.
Rangers and the permanent move
The Scotland call-up also lands in the middle of a wider Rangers story. Penrice scored on his Rangers debut a day after joining on loan from AEK Athens FC, and the loan includes an option to buy.
Derek McInnes has already made the club's position clear. "I want him, the club wants him and James wants to be here. From that starting point, hopefully we can get something agreed," he said to Sky Sports. McInnes also added that Penrice has made it clear how keen he is to stay, although work still needs to be done before anything is agreed.
Penrice's call-up does not force the issue on its own, but it gives Rangers another reason to keep him. Scotland are third in their Nations League group with 4 points, and Penrice has already given himself a place in the picture by playing 10 times in the Premiership. Scotland host North Macedonia on November 13 and play away to Switzerland three days later.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
