Ferguson to delay call on Scotland

Birmingham City midfielder Barry Ferguson will delay a decision on whether to return to international football with Scotland until the end of the season.

The exiled Scot again was again handed the olive branch by new national boss Craig Levein in the build up to his first game in charge against Czech Republic in midweek, less than a year after being stripped of the armband and banned from the team.

Ferguson and former Glasgow Rangers team-mate Allan McGregor were caught partaking in a late-night drinking session before a World Cup qualifier against Iceland, before making the situation worse by making gestures while on the bench as substitutes during the match.

But Levein has repeatedly stated that all Scottish players have a clean slate under his command, although the Blues midfielder will still not commit to his country.

Ferguson is adamant his club come first until the end of the season, when his hand will be revealed once and for all.

He said: "I've got to give Birmingham everything I have and then, at the end of the season, I will sit down and think it through.

"But the way Craig Levein has dealt with it is great. He took time out to have a chat, he knows my feelings about the Scotland situation and took everything into consideration."