McCourt will line up against Scotland on Wednesday night in the Carling Nations Cup

Celtic winger Paddy McCourt believes Wednesday's Carling Nations Cup clash between Scotland and Northern Ireland will have a competitive edge.

McCourt has been called into Nigel Worthington's side for the match at the Aviva Stadium and is looking forward to facing some of his Celtic team-mates.

"knowing that you're sharing a dressing room with some of these guys makes it a bit more competitive," said McCourt.

"You never go into a friendly to lose, so I'm sure we'll be going out to win."

Celtic's Niall McGinn joins McCourt in the Northern Ireland squad, along with Rangers duo Steven David and David Healy.

It'll give it a wee bit of a competitive edge to know you're playing against clubmates and players you see on a regular basis Paddy McCourt

For Scotland, McCourt's clubmates, Scott Brown, Mark Wilson and Kris Commons all received call-ups from manager Craig Levein for Wednesday's match in Dublin, and the former Derry City man believes it should add some extra spice to the match.

"It'll give it a bit of edge," said McCourt. "Kris came in towards the end of January, and he's been a great addition to our squad.

"He showed on Sunday with his goal against Rangers that he's a very talented player and you can expect to see a lot from him.

"Scott Brown, over the last six to eight weeks is playing the best football since he came to Celtic.

"But I don't think anyone is going to be flying in with tackles and looking to hurt anyone.

"It'll give it a wee bit of a competitive edge to know you're playing against clubmates and players you see on a regular basis.

"It's going to be a difficult game - and the two teams are pretty evenly matched, so it'll be a good contest."

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