? Craig Levein calls up England Under-20 winger Matt Phillips
? 'It's important we widen the net to give us the best chance'
Craig Levein said he is unperturbed about upsetting the Football Association with his attempts to coax English-born players to play for Scotland. Levein has named Blackpool's Matt Phillips in his squad for the friendly in Slovenia on 29 February. The 20-year-old, born in Aylesbury, has played for England's Under-19 and Under-20 teams but qualifies for Scotland through a grandparent.
Phillips' club manager, Ian Holloway, had said the forward should have spurned Levein's advances on the basis he will soon be good enough to play for England at senior level.
Asked if resentment has been apparent from the FA, Levein said: "There has been. There has been an indication that they are not particularly happy about it but I see that as a compliment in some regards.
"Who is to say that Matt Phillips isn't any more patriotic towards Scotland than half the people who live in Scotland?"
On Holloway's stance, Levein said: "Ian Holloway is a fiercely patriotic Englishman so he is going to say that. He feels very much that Matt Phillips would be an asset to the England team."
There are seven England-born players in the Scotland party for the match against Slovenia in Koper. Levein could yet coax Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey into donning Scotland colours. His hopes of doing likewise with the Tottenham defender Steven Caulker and Chelsea's Josh McEachran are understood to be remote for now. Levein justifies his tactics on the basis he needs all the resource available for the World Cup qualifying campaign.
"I think it's really important that we widen the net and give ourselves the best chance," Levein said. "Other countries have been doing what we are attempting to do for years now. It is no coincidence that a lot of those countries have been very successful.
"I'm very proud of my Scottish roots but my job, most importantly, is to give us the best chance possible of qualifying for Brazil. It's as simple as that."
Levein reported improvement in the health of his captain, Darren Fletcher. The Manchester United midfielder is taking an extended break from football in a bid to cure a serious bowel condition.
Scotland have not completely ruled out selecting Fletcher for the friendly with the United States on 26 May. "He's is feeling better," Levein said. "Not setting aside what he is as a football player, his dealing with this has been amazing really. You need to understand the depth of the problems that he has had. It just makes him an even more impressive character. I really want him to be part of everything that we're doing. I might take him to America, depending on how well he is. Even if he is not fit to play, I might take him along."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/20/scotland-fa-england-talent
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