John Barclay is sick and tired of people patting him on the back for playing well every time Scotland lose.

Numerous well-wishers have attempted to gee up the Glasgow flanker in the last fortnight following the defeats by New Zealand and South Africa.

And while he appreciates their efforts, he insists only one thing will lift his spirits: winning.

“I know we’re not being patronised but that’s what it feels like,” the 22-year-old said ahead of Saturday’s final autumn international against Canada.

“You’ve got people saying, ‘You did so well’, and there’s only so many times you want to hear that.

“Your mum says, ‘Your granny phoned me - you played so well’. And you’re like, ‘Yeah, but we still lost’ - it always comes back to that.”

The winning feeling is not something to which Barclay is accustomed in a Scotland jersey, having tasted victory only once in his six caps.

Admittedly, that was one to particularly cherish as he helped his country record their maiden Test win in Argentina this summer.

Otherwise, it has been a tale of near misses, none more so than last weekend’s agonising defeat by world champions South Africa, where Scotland roared to a 10-0 half-time lead before losing 14-10.

Barclay said: “People very quickly forget that we ran these teams close.

“I think the last two games we’ve played well but, again, we’ve had nothing to show for it.

“So, if Scotland are to be taken very seriously in terms of world rugby in the Six Nations or with their pro teams, you have to win these games.

“And not just win these one-off games, to win these games regularly.”

He added: “You can only talk about near misses for so long before people get bored of that and they want to see results.

“Don’t get me wrong, it is great that we ran the world champions so close. You’d obviously much rather that than get beaten by 40 points.

“The crowd got really supportive on Saturday but, again, you can only take so much from a loss and Scottish people want to see us win.

“It is great that people are encouraged by the way we played because if you’re playing well and losing, it’s obviously more encouraging.

“But we want to win these games, we don’t just want to do well. Nobody likes losing, I hope.”

Saturday is the perfect opportunity for Barclay to double his tally of Test wins, with Canada by far the least daunting opposition he has faced so far.

But the flanker is leaving nothing to chance, vowing to take the anger of back-to-back defeats onto the field at Pittodrie.

“We’ve been very frustrated - and someone alluded to being angry - whichever one it is,” said Barclay, whose side must win and hope Ireland lose this weekend to preserve their second-seed status for the 2011 World Cup.

“We have to use that to motivate us to go out and play well on Saturday and really perform well.

“I’m happy to have had a chance in all three games but I want to go out and win, and win well on Saturday.”

Barclay is the only member of the back row to have kept his place for the trip to Aberdeen, a real vote of confidence for a player who only made his debut a year ago.

“I had a target I wanted to play in all three games in the autumn and I knew that was going to be tough, especially with the games we’re playing,” he said.

“I’m just happy to be involved. I know how quickly these things can change, having had experience of that in the Six Nations and World Cup and the summer tour.

“It sounds a bit cliched but I genuinely love playing for Scotland, I love playing rugby, and the more caps I get, the better.”