There is normally nothing so forlorn as a footballer who is not playing. The realities of the modern game, however, ensure that few can lace up their boots for every game.

That is no consolation to the professional kicking his heels in the dugout or nursing his wrath in the stand.

Kris Boyd and Darren Fletcher face similar situations at club level. They no longer seem automatic first choices for spots at Rangers and Manchester United respectively.

If they are united in their discomfort, they are also united in their determination to remedy matters.

Fletcher has the chance to play a captain's role against South Africa tonight, while Boyd will have to impress both Alex McLeish and Walter Smith by venturing from the bench. He has, at least, the strength of a previous conviction in the art of nicking a goal as a substitute.

"Coming off the bench and scoring is always good for confidence," he said of his strike in Rangers' 7-2 defeat of Falkirk at Ibrox on Saturday.

Oh his disappointment at not being a first pick, he said: "It was down to me to get myself back into the team and show I am good enough to play there. Hopefully, I have put something in the gaffer's head that I can play from the start."

This determination to play has taken precedence over contract talks.

"The biggest thing for me is to get my head down and get back in the team and scoring goals," he said, adding: "I have not even thought about it a new deal. Once I am back in the team I can think about it."

He knows Rangers have secured their young talent on long-term deals and said: "It might be two or three years before you see Rangers at their best but the gaffer has us going in the right direction."

Boyd has been the subject of criticism over parts of his game, particularly his workrate.

He would not, however, discuss specific flaws. "There's parts I can improve on and there's parts I have improved on. It's just up to me."

He has also been under the spotlight after his mini goal drought that lasted all of three games. "If that's a crisis," he said, "I can't wait until I go six games without scoring."

He was bright about the future, saying of his strike against Falkirk: "Hopefully, Saturday was the first of many this season. I hope I have turned the corner."

He had always retained his confidence: "There have been umpteen chances every game. If those had dried up then I would have felt a bit of pressure. The chances were there, I wasn't taking them."

He had been confounded, too, by bad luck: "Against Inverness it my shot has come back off the bar and spun around the post. There's nothing you can do about it."

He is pleased with his fitness: "I had only three weeks off during the summer but I worked for a good week before. I still feel really good and sharp."

The major reason Boyd is missing out on a starting spot comes in the substantial shapes of Daniel Cousin and Jean-Claude Darcheville. But the Scottish striker said: "Everybody has welcomed the challenge. When you see the size of our squad and the people who are left in the stand every week, you realise that there is a lot of pressure on the guys in the team to keep performing. It's good for Rangers as a whole."

Fletcher, too, is struggling to squeeze his slim frame into the Manchester United midfield but will captain Scotland tonight with hopes that the young talent coming through will ensure a successful future for the nation.

He believes, too, that if Scotland win their home games in the European qualifiers, success will be more immediate by putting the side in touch of the finals.

He showed the same determination as Boyd in the face of his trials at club level.

He said: "I pride myself on my fitness even when I am not getting games. I don't think anybody is an automatic pick when you look at the quality of our midfield. However, I believe in myself and the manager has belief in me so I will have to take my chance with both hands when it comes. It's not the first time I haven't started a season."

Both Boyd and Fletcher had a final, enduring message. The Rangers striker said simply, while sitting in the comfortable surroundings of the Scottish team hotel: "If you were not good enough, you would not be here."

Fletcher was similarly succinct: "If you don't believe in yourself, who can you believe in?"