‘More players could switch allegiances to Scotland’ admits boss

Pedro Martinez Losa has revealed more players could change allegiances to Scotland following Amy Rodgers' switch from the Lionesses to the Tartan Army.

Pedro Martinez Losa has named a 22-player squad for the friendlies with Northern Ireland and Finland next month. Cr: SNS Group.

London City Lionesses midfielder Amy Rodgers was one of the surprise names in yesterday's Scotland Women squad after the former Lionesses youth midfielder opted to switch her international allegiance to Scotland - and head coach Pedro Martinez Losa admits there could be more to come.

The 24-year-old had previously represented England at various youth levels but qualified for Scotland due to her Glasgow born mother and Losa pointed to her desire to represent the country as one of his key reasons for her inclusion.

"She (Rodgers) has a strong desire and tradition in the family from her Mother to play for Scotland. We have been in discussions with her for a long time" said the Spanish boss.

"I think every position is important but games are played in the middle. It doesn't matter what kind of football you want to play. Now the demands of the women's game is that you do everything well in one way. You have to be good defensively, you have to be able to respond to the demands of the game. I think she ticks a lot of these boxes and that she can help the team" he added.

The head coach admitted that Rodgers may not be the last to switch nations either and told The Scotsman there are "many players" - including some on the continent - who "really love the idea of playing for Scotland" and are eligible to do so.

"I have had a lot of conversations in the last two years. I instigate the conversation because we have interest through scouting, though the first thing we look for is a strong desire to play for Scotland. That is a must" said the 50-year-old boss.

"I'm the manager of Scotland so I don't want to just bring players here that I don't totally believe they can bring something to the team. I want to respect the players we have also and I don't want the players - or agents - to use this for any other purpose because playing internationally is a branding for the players. After a couple of conversations you can feel it.

"I'm not sure how many more players will come. I think it is about recognising the need and having the certainty that the player wants to do it but we will continue evaluating all the rules to improve the team".

Scotland will face Northern Ireland on July 14 at Dens Park, Dundee before travelling to Tampere to face Finland four days later.