Scotland recruit Peterborough winger Boyd

Published on Thursday 30 April 2009 22:05

PETERBOROUGH winger George Boyd was yesterday given the green light to play for Scotland after obtaining proof his maternal grandfather was born in Glasgow.

Scotland manager George Burley has named a 17-man squad for next Wednesday night's B international against Northern Ireland, but revealed he was planning to make a further addition to the party.

That man is Boyd, 23, who has just helped his club secure their second successive promotion in the Football League. He was born in Chatham, but the Scottish Football Association were made aware of his Scottish heritage, opening the door for him to make his international debut.

Boyd, dubbed "The White Pele" by Peterborough fans, told his club's official website: "Any international recognition is great and I am just looking forward to going up there and showing what I can do.

"I didn't really know about the Scottish interest until the beginning of the week. My granddad is very proud, as are my parents. I think (playing for) England is a bit far-fetched, so this is a great opportunity for me. Scotland have done extremely well of late and I just hope I can play well and see where it takes me."

Boyd joked he had already had some grief from a Scottish-born team-mate over his selection. "I think Paul Coutts is annoyed that I am in the Scotland B squad ahead of him."