The Scottish boo-boys have forced Gary McAllister to quit international football.

Coventry City’s captain played his way back into the national side after a long term injury, but the boo-boys gave him such a rough ride in Glasgow that manager Craig Brown substituted him in the second half.

Now 34 year old McAllister, who has played 57 times for his country has called it a day at international level.

He says:

"I am extremely disappointed because I know I am still good enough to play at international level and contribute something to the Scotland side.

"But there comes a point when that type of pressure from certain sections who are looking for me not to do well, whether that be fans or in the media, becomes too much. It has been a difficult decision to make because every player’s dream is to play for his country and I came into international football relatively late in my career.

"To give up before my time is very disappointing indeed.

"It has been an ongoing thing for some time which I cannot understand, but my penalty miss against England at Wembley was probably the catalyst to make things worse. Last week’s result against Czechoslovakia was a crescendo of a night which had a major bearing on my decision."

McAllister’s international comeback was heralded by the Scotland manager last week. The midfielder missed the World Cup in France when he tore a cruciate ligament inside his knee joint and had to undergo major reconstructive surgery.

He worked hard to win back a place in Coventry’s team and his form was so good that Brown selected him for Scotland. The national team manager said he would still like to include McAllister in his squads because he had such a good influence on the other players.