English-born Hooper is seeking a Scottish bloodline

Craig Levein has refused to be drawn on the possibility of Celtic striker Gary Hooper and Wigan midfielder James McCarthy being called up by Scotland.

Hooper is English-born but is reportedly seeking a Scottish bloodline, while McCarthy has chosen to represent Republic of Ireland.

"What I can tell you is that my policy has not changed," said the coach.

"I will search high and low to find players who can enhance the squad and that is what I will continue to do."

Hooper has been in excellent form for Celtic since his summer arrival from Scunthorpe United.

Where those players come from is of no great interest to me, the level that they are playing at is of far more interest to me Scotland manager Craig Levein

And, asked what progress had been made to find if the player was eligible to play for Scotland through his grandfather, Levein said: "We have a game against Northern Ireland and I don't want to get drawn on talking about individuals at this time.

"I want to develop a club mentality, work with the players to produce better results and keep improving.

"Where those players come from is of no great interest to me, the level that they are playing at is of far more interest to me.

"Lads who play at the top level are players that I want to play for Scotland."

Ahead of Wednesday's Carling Nations Cup match against the Northern Irish, Levein also brushed aside questions about Glasgow-born former Hamilton Accies midfielder McCarthy.

The Wigan player opted to play for the Republic through the grandparent rule.

However, there was some speculation about his commitment after he pulled out of the Irish squad for Tuesday's 3-0 win over Wales in the Carling Nations Cup.

Having only played in a friendly for Ireland, the 20-year-old could still play for Scotland.

"I can only reiterate that I want only the best players available in the Scottish national team," added Levein.

"We are getting sidetracked talking about something that isn't that important just now."

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