Laurence Docherty believes there is bias against the Scots

GB team boss Mike Hamilton had hoped that 23-year-old Docherty's participation for Scotland in the European Nations Cup in Barcelona would lead to a change of heart.

Docherty, who plays midfield for Dutch league side Klein Zwitzerland, was chosen for the British squad for a pre-Olympic training camp at Bisham Abbey but failed to turn up on Tuesday.

And, although Hamilton claimed that he did not know Docherty's intentions and had been unable to contact him, the Scot says he had made his position clear.

"I made my decision some time ago and I've got to stand by it," he said on his way back from a training camp in Amsterdam.

I have decided to play for Holland if I can and this will be a better life for me Laurence Docherty

"I sent them an e-mail last week explaining that and telling them that I wouldn't be at Bisham Abbey this week."

Docherty had earlier appeared to have had second thoughts, despite his original announcement in July but on Tuesday denied changing his mind.

"I said I wasn't sure," he said. "But it didn't seem right for me to turn up to train with the GB squad if I wasn't going to change my original decision."

Docherty faces much red tape if he is to change citizenship in time to play for the Netherlands at Athens 2004.

"There are always risks," he admitted. "That's always going to be the case. But I have decided to play for Holland if I can and this will be a better life for me."

Hamilton, whose managerial and coaching style has been criticised recently by members of the England squad who won bronze in Barcelona, said: "We were certainly expecting to see him on Sunday.

"But we had not heard from him and the rest of the squad have just got on with the task without him.

"I think Laurence has a great talent and this whole business has clearly put a lot of strain on him. But there comes a time when we have to draw a line."

There has been disquiet for some time among some in Scottish hockey that GB selectors, both of men's and women's teams, are biased in favour of the English.

And, when Docherty was overlooked for selection for the Sydney Olympics, it appeared to convince him that his future lay elsewhere.

But Scottish Hockey performance director Brent Deans said: "It is disappointing that Laurence did not have the courtesy to let me know of his decision.

"Scottish hockey and the Scottish Institute of Sport have done a lot for him over the past eight years, including the under-21 World Cup."

The squad on Tuesday began their preparations for a November tour of New Zealand and the Olympic qualifying tournament in Madrid next March.