IN years gone by, prominent Scottish players only headed across the Atlantic to the United States to play at the end of their careers when their achievements with club and country and their renown in the game ensured they pocketed a few dollars.

Richard Gough, Mo Johnston, Bobby Lennox and John Spencer, to name just a handful, all topped up their pension pots with lucrative spells in America before retiring.

How times have changed. Johnny Russell made the move to Sporting Kansas City at the start of the year at the age of just 27 to further his international ambitions.

The fact he will win his fifth cap for his country in a friendly against Mexico in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 90,000 in the Azteca Stadium in the early hours of tomorrow morning has vindicated his decision.

The national team’s end-of-season tour of Peru and Mexico has been beset by problems since it was announced in January. Several regular starters have been excused from travelling at the request of their clubs and there were six call-offs from the original 24-man squad. But Russell is confident he can be involved with his country when the UEFA Nations League gets underway in September despite playing for Kansas.

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a different beast to the entities which preceded it. The striker has found himself facing the likes of Ashley Cole, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa since he joined Sporting from Derby. Those superstars of world football may be in the twilight of their playing days too. But the standard and profile of the sport in the country has improved dramatically in the past decade. It is no longer a Mickey Mouse league.

Russell spent five seasons in the English Championship before taking the decision to uproot to the States and he confirms it is every bit as competitive.

“A lot of players there are going to the World Cup,” he said after arriving in Mexico City with the Scotland squad last night. “The league is littered with big talent. There has been a perception in the past that somehow it’s a retirement league, but they are completely changing that, by attracting younger guys and some real quality players as well.

“It has been a brilliant move for me, a good change. We’ve started well and so have I, personally. It was difficult to leave Derby as I had been there for so long, but I felt for the sake of my game I needed a change and I’m grateful I made the change now.

“I had a few options. But I felt Kansas was the best for me. I always wanted to go and play outside of the UK, even when I was at Dundee United it was something I wanted to do.

“I was given the opportunity to play in a league I’ve watched for a while now. It is constantly getting better and improving, so I felt now was the right time, especially as they don’t want the old guys any more. If I’d left it any longer I don’t know if I would ever have been offered the chance again.”

Russell knew he had made the right move when he found himself on the same field as Swedish great Ibrahimovic as Sporting Kansas City played LA Galaxy away at the StubHub Center in April. He scored a second-half goal in a 2-0 triumph.

“It was brilliant, a great experience to face a player of his stature,” he said. “I also played against Ashley Cole in that game too. There are so many players from throughout the world in the MLS. It’s littered with talent.

“We played New York in our first game and I came up against David Villa, a player I’ve loved for years. Getting to play against people like that is a great experience. I’m playing against top players.

“A lot of people don’t think there’s a lot of quality in the league, but you only have to look at the squad lists of every team - the league is littered with talent. By no means have I moved to the MLS to relax. I’ve moved there to push myself, to try something different to further my game.”

Russell added: “I always wanted Scotland to be a goal although you never know what is going to happen. It’s a lot more difficult for people to see me play out here, but I still feel I have something to give.

“I’ve been away on a lot of trips and didn’t play a lot of those times when I was away so I always felt I had something to prove. I still do. I’ve been given a second chance to get back in there and it’s up to me to take it.”

The Glasgow-born footballer revealed that his move was facilitated by another former Scotland forward, Mo Johnston. “It all came from him,” he said. “He asked if it was something I’d be interested in. He took it from there and worked on it together with my agent. He had been at Kansas for a while so he had nothing but positive things to say about the coach, the city and the team. It was tough to leave Derby, but an easy decision to join Sporting.”

Russell, who joined up with his countrymen in Lima just before their game with Peru on Tuesday due to club commitments, is well placed to cope with the heat and high altitude in Mexico City, which is over 7,000 feet above sea level, tomorrow.

The mercury hit 32 degrees Celsius here yesterday – sending the Tartan Army footsoldiers who have travelled to Central America scurrying for the shade of local hostelries and reviving cervezas.

But the 28-year-old has adapted to playing in high temperatures since moving to Kansas and played at altitude in Colorado back in March in an outing his new outfit drew 2-2.

He is excited at the prospect of playing at the world-renowned venue where Diego Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal for Argentina against England at Mexico ’86 - and then followed it up by netting an outrageous individual effort which was later voted “Goal of the Century” by FIFA.

“It will be difficult,” said Russell. “I’ve played at altitude before with Kansas, at Colorado, in my fourth game in the league and it was difficult. I spoke to a few of their boys after it and they had been there for a couple of months and still hadn’t fully acclimatised. Mexico is a lot higher too.

“You just can’t catch your breath, it tires you out quicker. You constantly feel you’re trying to push through and get a second wind you can’t really get. But it’s a challenge to look forward to, not just for me but for a lot of the boys who will really relish playing on this stage.

“You grow up looking at places like that. I grew up wanting to play for Scotland and hard work took me there. I’m delighted to have been given the opportunities I’ve been given and this is another one of those.

“The chance to play in a stadium like that with such history is going to be amazing. That’s why you play football, to perform in games like this, especially for your country. You can’t ask for any more than that.”