I'll never switch to England, insists Scotland ace Scott McTominay

Scott McTominay insists there is 'no chance' of him turning his back on Scotland to play for England instead.

A target for both Alex McLeish and Gareth Southgate, the Lancaster-born Manchester United midfielder - who is eligible through his Scottish father - chose the Lion Rampant over the Three Lions.

McTominay, 21, made his Scotland debut in a 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica in March, but FIFA rules mean he is allowed to switch sides until he plays in a competitive international.

However, speaking after he made the 6,000-mile trip to South America for end-of-season friendlies with Peru and Mexico, McTominay claimed he is fully committed to the Scotland cause. 'There is absolutely no chance (of switching to England). You can dismiss that one,' he said.

Scotland boss McLeish drove through the so-called Beast from the East storm to launch a personal sales pitch to McTominay, and the midfielder recalled: 'I was so grateful when he came down. He was in the manager's office, chatting to me. I had to thank him for showing an interest and driving through that storm and bad weather to see me. I was really grateful for that.'

Southgate was also in touch, offering the possibiity of a late push for England's World Cup squad.

But McTominay turned to Jose Mourinho for advice after a breakthrough season when he played 24 times for the United first team and collected a personal award from his manager at the club's annual player of the year dinner.

'There was a meeting set up with Gareth Southgate but by that time I had made my mind up.

'Alex drove down and there was the personal touch. It made it that little bit sweeter the manager had driven down to see me.

'There was genuine interest from England. I took it on board and took it as a compliment and I was happy with that.

'I just wanted to play for Scotland. I spoke to my manager at Manchester United.

'I told him what I wanted and he told me to do whatever I needed to do.

'His advice was to weigh up both sides and then go with whatever is in your heart.

'I had already made the decision so it was reasonably simple.'