No Scotland return for Ferguson

by setanta.com staff , 06 July 2010

Midfielder Barry Ferguson will not play for Scotland again, it has been confirmed by manager Craig Levein.


The Birmingham City midfielder was frozen out by the national set-up after a heavy drinking session ahead of a game against Iceland when George Burley was in charge of Scotland.

Levein, of course, replaced Burley in the hotseat after Scotland’s failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup and he had hoped that he would be able to lure Ferguson back to his side, but he has now confirmed that Ferguson will not be returnong after he held talks with him on Monday night.

The former Rangers and Blackburn Rovers man instead wants to concentrate on club football after he played a key role in Birmingham’s great season last year, one in which they finished ninth in the Premier League on the back of promotion from the Championship.

Levein said on Tuesday: "I am naturally disappointed not to call on Barry’s abilities and experience for the Euro 2012 qualification campaign, but I understand his reasons.

"The arrangement was that Barry would have the summer to decide.

"Birmingham returned to pre-season training yesterday and when we spoke last night, he said that both family commitments and his commitment to Birmingham City were the priorities in his life at the moment.

"I wish him the best of luck and we now move on with our preparations for the qualification campaign, starting with the friendly against Sweden next month."

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
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