Barry Ferguson says he has “plenty of thinking to do” before deciding whether to make a comeback for Scotland under new manager Craig Levein.
The Birmingham midfielder will discuss the situation with club manager Alex McLeish before making any decision on his international future.
Ferguson was not considered by his country after much-publicised off-the-field incidents when on Scotland duty last season – most notoriously the Boozegate scandal.
Levein has held talks with the 32-year-old and indicated he wants the former Rangers captain to return to the fold for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and add to his 45 caps.
Ferguson said yesterday: “Myself and Craig Levein have agreed to keep private what has been said. I’ve still got a lot of thinking to do and I am nowhere near a decision. I am fully committed to Birmingham. I will give them a full season. They took a chance on me when people were knocking me down. I owe them everything.
“I have all that to take into account and it will be a long time before I decide what I do.”
Ferguson revealed Levein is the only coach for whom he would have considered returning to the national squad.
He added: “As soon as Craig got announced as Scotland manager I said he was the right man for the job. He is the only guy I would probably consider coming back to play for.
“I need to sit down and go through a lot of things.
“If it means I go away and come back and I’m not going to play here well there is no chance of me going back. There is still loads to discuss. But the meetings were good and he is a guy I respect and he has given me time to go away and think about it.
“There are loads of things I have to take into consideration and I have to be honest with Alex McLeish as well.
“He has given me a platform to come here and play. I’ve not had a long chat with him yet. I need to sit down and see what his thoughts are.”
Ferguson’s comments came after he was publicly encouraged to end his international exile by Kenny Miller, the Rangers attacker.
Miller said: “Barry is a big loss to us, there is no doubt about that. I’ve been watching him since he went to Birmingham and I watched his game at the weekend. I thought he was outstanding.
“He is playing in arguably the best league in the world. It maybe wasn’t against one of the top teams at the weekend – no disrespect to Wolves – but I thought he was a standout. He is going to be a big addition to the Scotland squad if he decides to come back and play.”
Asked if Ferguson could be the difference between Euro 2012 qualification and another failure, Miller said: “We want our best players playing for the national team and there is no doubt Barry Ferguson is one of them.
“He is not just a squad player, he’s a big, big player for the team. We will be delighted if he chooses to come back and play alongside us again.”
Levein has also confirmed that Rangers keeper Alan McGregor and Light Blues attacker Kris Boyd will both be named in his squad for next month’s friendly against the Czech Republic. McGregor was also shamed in the Boozegate scandal, while Boyd refused to be considered for selection under George Burley.
Miller reckons second spot is the most realistic target for the Scots after being drawn against Spain, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in their Euro 2012 qualifying group. But the Rangers forward believes topping the group and securing automatic qualification is not impossible.
“I don’t think we write it off,” he said.
“You would probably say beforehand that second place was going to be your best opportunity. But you never know. On any given night you can get the breaks and get the results.”