Commons: I have nothing to prove

Scotland international Kris Commons insists he will not be looking to prove a point to Derby County boss Nigel Clough this weekend, ahead of the Scotalnd versus Macedonia game .

The Derby midfielder is expected to turn out for his nation Scotland against Macedonia on Saturday in their crunch 2010 World Cup qualifier.

And the game comes a week after the 25-year-old was given a public dressing down by Rams boss Clough following his disappointing showing in a 3-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest.

The former Nottingham Forest player was hauled off at half-time at the City Ground, and warned about his future conduct, but Commons claims the issue has been laid to rest and will not be weighing on his mind when he turns his attention to international commitments.

He said: “I wasn’t disappointed (by what was said).

“I played badly and there are no grey areas with the gaffer. It’s black and white.

“If you play well, he is the first to congratulate you but I played badly for 45 minutes and got a hammering, so I take it on the chin.

“I made two mistakes and cost us two goals; it got highlighted and the manager didn’t like it.

“There is history between both clubs and I think Nigel got a bit of stick from their fans and so he aimed at me.”

Commons added: “I don’t think I need to prove him wrong.

“He knows what I am capable of and that’s why he probably had a dig at me.

“My standards had dropped, not just a little bit but to standards that he had never seen before so it was probably a little dig at me to kick on a bit.”

Scotland have a collective point to prove this weekend following their 4-0 drubbing in Norway last time out and Commons is determined to play his part in making amends against Macedonia and Holland this week.

“There will be a lot of players who feel like that,” the midfielder said.

“The way we lost in Norway, we owe it to the fans, the manager and anyone who has put confidence in you to go and do a job.

“There’s a lot of players who didn’t turn up in Norway, although there were decisions that went against us, like the sending off.

“I think it’s time to knuckle down and put in our best performance to get three points against Macedonia.

“We have 90 minutes to secure a win and I think if we do, then it’s in our hands to give Holland the best that we can offer.

“Everyone is up for the game and there is no doubt in my mind that we will win the match and then all the concentration will be on Holland.”