By Julian Taylor

Gary Teale is hoping to become a part of the Scotland set-up

Gary Teale's disappointment at losing on his international debut is overshadowed by his view that he can be a vital part of the Scotland set-up.

"On a personal level I'm obviously delighted because it was my first cap for Scotland," he told BBC Sport, after the 3-1 home defeat to Switzerland.

"It was a great feeling to finally go out and play, and hopefully there will be a lot more of that to come.

"It's always your dream as a young footballer to play for your country."

The Scots have not won a friendly international at Hampden since 1996.

And there was little danger of Walter Smith's side changing that record against the World Cup-bound Swiss, who ran out comfortable winners.

"From a team point of view it was disappointing because of the result and I didn't think we played particularly well," said Teale.

"We did get back into the game before we became sloppy, but I think Switzerland were a bit more up for it as their players have World Cup places to play for."

Scotland have an unenviable task of trying to qualify for Euro 2008, as they are up against France, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia and the Faroe Islands.

But after the inital shock of the draw, the Wigan midfielder is prepared for the task.

I'm confident that I can now keep my place in the squad Gary Teale

"I don't think any of us were too happy about it, that's for sure," he said.

"It's going to be very difficult but you always want to be playing against the best, and they don't come any better than the likes of France and Italy.

"At Wigan we've certainly surprised a few people this season, so there's no reason why we can't go on and do the same for Scotland.

"Once the World Cup is over and all the players have come through pre-season training the qualifiers will be upon us, so we'll have to be prepared."

The 27-year-old has had an excellent season at Wigan, with Paul Jewell's outsiders riding high in the Premiership and reaching the Carling Cup final, with Teale's role in their success bringing him into Smith's international plans.

"I didn't get off to the best of starts as I got injured in my second game and was out for eight weeks, and the boys were playing really well, so it took me a while to get back into the team," he said.

"I'm really enjoying life at Wigan. It hasn't always been easy but I've worked hard all my career and it's finally beginning to pay off for me with Scotland."

Now that Teale has got the taste for international action, he knows that if he is to have a future with Scotland then he has to maintain his consistency.

"I'm confident that I can now keep my place in the squad, and it's up to me to keep playing as well as I can at Wigan and in the Premiership.

"There are no guarantees in football, but hopefully that would be enough to keep me in the thoughts of the manager for the Euro 2008 qualifiers."