Tom only Cairs for Scotland

Peter Grant insists Fulham ace Tom Cairney is fully committed to Scotland and that he WON’T switch allegiances to England.

The midfielder has yet to feature in a competitive game for Scotland, which has alerted England gaffer Gareth Southgate to his availability.

But Scots No.2 Grant worked with Cairney at Craven Cottage and is convinced he wants to wear dark blue after being in contact with him.

Despite returning to fitness for Fulham, Scotland gaffer Alex McLeish left Cairney out of his squad for the Nations League games against Albania and Israel.

But Grant believes Cairney will eventually become a big player for the national team.

He said: “I’m convinced Tom is still committed to Scotland, absolutely 100 per cent.

“The biggest problem he’s had is with injuries and we feel he just needs to get a run of club games.

“There’s no doubting his talent, we know he has the quality.

“Unfortunately we’ve not seen the best of him yet.

“But he’s positive about Scotland and I know his dad is desperate for Tom to play for Scotland. People were talking about England which is natural due to how he was playing.

“But for me he has been keen to come and play for Scotland since he was a kid when he came up for the Under-21s.

“Now he’s on his way back at Fulham and hopefully he’s got a big future with us when he’s fully fit.”

One player who won’t play for Scotland again is Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur who has retired from the national team at 31 due to fears over a back injury.

Grant said: “It’s heartbreaking. People forget international football is two games in quick succession and a lot of the boys can’t do that.

“We’re disappointed about James because he would have been a big player. But it’s more disappointing for him because he wanted as many caps as he could get.”