Who will blink first in the stand-off between the international manager and players frustrated by lack of game time.

"So nothing changes there."
Scotland manager George Burley has no intention of making the first move to invite Kris Boyd to continue his international career. The Boyd was left frustrated on the bench during the goalless World Cup qualifier against Norway in October last year and announced that he would not play for Scotland as long as Burley was manager. The Rangers striker has played a total of just 28 minutes in a Scotland shirt under Burley. Since the October revolution, Boyd has scored 18 goals in 16 games for Rangers. There is a split between Scotland fans over Boyd's stance with many bemused by anybody withdrawing their services from their country and others very keen to have his finishing skills at the nation's disposal to help end a 12-year famine of being involved in international finals. Burley was reported as being "open" to Boyd returning if the player backtracked on his decision. Things appear to have changed as the Scotland boss has his game-face on as he prepares the players who are available for the double header against Holland and Iceland in the spring. When asked if he would encourage Boyd to end the stand-off, Burley said: "It's been well documented over the last month or so. I will pick the players who are available. My job is to go round watching games and teams and choose players who are available. So nothing changes there."

Boyd was not the first player to have walked away from international duty under Burley. Ibrox team-mate Lee McCulloch was the first and there were rumours that others - perhaps up to another three - would follow. Boyd and McCulloch have said their decision was "nothing personal" which is odd when they say they will not play under Burley. The ex-Ipswich and Hearts boss movedinto the job with glowing reports about his man-management skills from former players. And while Burley admits the nature of an international job makes it difficult to develop close bonds with players, he argues the opportunity to play for your country should overcome any problems. Burley said: "You don't see much of them and you are not working with them on the training pitch, so naturally you don't have the same input and the same day-to-day relationship with the players. That's part of the job. But then again, as players, you are playing for your country so the motivation is there before you start, because playing for your country is a very special thing. But it is different and you have got to adjust to it. You just have to be patient and don't get frustrated between games because it is a long time before you see the players again."

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