John McGinn explained how he has learned to cope with the opinions of his detractors amid criticism of his recent form for Scotland.
The 31-year-old Aston Villa captain has accumulated 91 caps and been to three major tournaments with the national team since his debut more than a decade ago.
But McGinn's status as a first choice for the national team has been called into question after an underwhelming World Cup and following the opening two matches of the current Nations League campaign.
"The nature of the beast is, at club and country, you have a lot of responsibility, a lot of weight on your shoulders," McGinn said ahead of Scotland's Saturday night showdown with North Macedonia.
"When you do something well, you're the best thing since sliced bread. When you don't have a great couple of games, or you're not producing assists, or you make a poor pass in a pivotal moment in a game, you're automatically not good enough. It's the nature of being my age.
"It's the nature of competing with Scotland and with Aston Villa. I take the praise with a big smile. Any criticism that comes, it's just part of it.
"If I was younger, I would have been straight on Instagram or Twitter and thinking that username Jim Smith or @JimMcAllister5, I would think his opinion mattered.
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but if you go through a spell where you're not doing too well, you need to find that inner self-belief, which I feel like I have.
"The older you get, you learn how to manage tough moments better. You know after a game like Switzerland, losing 3-0 at home, do you turn the telly on? No. Do you listen to radio reports? No.
"But if it's 3-0 to Scotland, I would be lying if I said I didn't listen to something like that.
"The lows get lower, and the highs become less high. But you certainly deal with it a lot better when you're older.
"I think when you're younger, it completely consumes you, and you try and work too hard to come out of what could potentially be a difficult moment.
"But I feel as if I'm managing those times well, and they come quite often. At the start of the season with Aston Villa, we had, until the last game, no wins. So the challenges come in different ways, and I'm used to dealing with them."
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Asked about his form, McGinn mused: "Have I played well in the last couple of Scotland games? Probably not in the first half in Slovenia, but a bit better in the second half.
"The other night, I made a bad pass at the start of the game. After that [with 10 men for most of the game], it's about digging in and trying to do as much work for the team.
"I don't think I can quite reflect on my form until after the next two games."