Oliver McBurnie wants to help Chester FC make amends for the midweek let-down before linking up with Scotland under-19s in Austria.
McBurnie gave the Blues the lead at home to Dartford on Tuesday but Nathan Green levelled in a matter of seconds and an 89th-minute Kingsley James own goal made for a hugely disappointing night.
Supporters will expect a response at Alfreton Town, another team in danger of relegation, on Saturday (3pm) but McBurnie could miss out because of his involvement in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round, where Scotland take on Italy, Austria and Croatia.
“I go away with Scotland this week for three matches so I’m going to miss the Woking game (on March 28) and maybe Alfreton too,” said McBurnie, whose loan spell from Bradford City has seen him score twice in eight appearances.
“I’m hoping I can arrange a flight and go out on Saturday night to join up with the rest of the squad. I’m working on it and, fingers crossed, I can play at the weekend.
“The boys were all gutted in the dressing room on Tuesday and we couldn’t believe we hadn’t won the game. We had the chances to kill the game off and we slipped up.
“Dartford came with a game-plan to frustrate us and it worked to an extent but with the players we have we should be able to adapt so we’ve got to look at ourselves and what we can do better. We could have been 3-0 up in the first-half and once we got the goal I thought we’d control the game from then on but then we gave a goal away so quickly and so cheaply.
“If there’s one positive I can take then it’s getting on the scoresheet. The keeper made a couple of good saves and I thought it was going to be one of those nights but the result is more important than that.”
McBurnie is well-regarded at Valley Parade and would be happy to extend his loan for the rest of the season if Bradford manager Phil Parkinson thinks that’s best.
“I’ve had a little bit of experience in League One but before that I was only playing youth team football and I’m enjoying testing myself against big, strong centre halves.
“I think I’ve got one more game of my loan spell left when I get back and to be honest I’m just concentrating on enjoying my football. I’ve not spoken to anyone at Bradford yet but I’m loving being at Chester and I can’t speak highly enough of the club.”
If McBurnie misses out this weekend, Craig Hobson (inset) would be favourite to fill the main striking role.
