Russell Martin has set his sights on remaining in Scotland boss Craig Levein's plans after making his international debut.

The Norwich City full-back – who qualifies through his Irvine-born father – played the final 10 minutes of the 3-1 Carling Nations Cup win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday night.

Martin first had talks with City boss Paul Lambert – capped 40 times by Scotland – about his national career prospects months ago.

And, while hopeful of having a part to play at international level, Martin was surprised just how quickly he earned his first cap after being called up to the squad for the first time last week.

He said: 'It's something I've wanted for a while, pretty much the whole season to be honest.

'As soon as the gaffer (Lambert) spoke to me a few months ago and planted the seed in my head, it was something to aim for. Thankfully it has come.

'It was a surprise I got it so early, I thought I'd maybe have to prove myself again next season. But it has come and I hope I'll do enough to stay in the squad in the future.'

Scotland staged an impressive comeback to win the game after ex-Canary Rob Earnshaw fired Wales into a half-time lead. Goals from James Morrison, Kenny Miller and Christophe Berra sealed victory, allowing Levein to hand debuts to both 25-year-old Martin and Blackburn's Grant Hanley late on.

Martin added: 'I really enjoyed it and I was delighted to get my first cap. I was hoping I'd get on at some point and get a good 10 minutes or so.

'Catching up with the pace of the game was hard work but the boys had the game won by that point and were playing well so it was a great feeling.'

Scotland will battle it out with the Republic of Ireland for the trophy in the tournament's final match on Sunday.

But Levein sees these games as crucial preparation for forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers and Martin believes the Scots showed they are on the right track with their performance against the Welsh.

He said: 'You are playing for your country and the lads just want to do as well as they can in every game. They want to prove what they can do and what they are about.

'The style of the team is constantly evolving into the way the manager wants us to play and we saw that especially in the second half tonight.

'We played at a real high tempo and played some good football. Hopefully that shows what is to come.'