Ally McCoist believes George Burley should jump at the chance to select Andrew Driver for Scotland - despite his lack of a Scottish bloodline.

Hearts winger Driver has found himself torn between representing the country of his birth and his adopted nation following a change in the eligibility criteria.

He was capped by England Under-21s in the summer but could now switch allegiance to Scotland after FIFA ratified a rule change which allows players with a British passport to represent a country if they have been schooled there for five years.

Oldham-born Driver has so far been non-committal on his international future but former Scotland coach McCoist says he would love to see the 21-year-old in the dark blue shirt - providing he is fully committed to the cause.

Asked whether he would select Driver for the national team, the Rangers assistant boss replied: "I would, to tell you the truth, because I would always want us to select the best players available.

"I don't think we, as a country, can afford not to pick the best players available.

"If Andrew Driver is available and it's legal then why don't we pick him? That's just my own opinion on it.

"I happen to think he is a terrific talent. He is a good player and I don't think we are blessed with enough fantastic players that we can pick and choose, so I'm all for picking someone who is available to play for us."

The debate over Driver is all the more controversial because he has already represented England at under-21 level.

But McCoist added: "You're talking to someone who played with Stuart McCall and Andy Goram, who had as thick English accents as you will ever get.

"I would also tell you they are two of the most patriotic Scotsmen I've ever had the pleasure of playing with.

"From that point of view, I don't think his accent or anything else would bother me as long as he was committed to the lion rampant, rather than the three lions. That would do for me.

"I didn't hear the argument going the other way when he played for the Scotland schoolboys and then played for the England Under-21s.

"I didn't hear any English fans throwing the toys out of the pram or going crazy.

"I'm of the opinion that he's a good talent and, if he's allowed to play for us, let's play him."

McCoist admits Driver could expect a mixed response from the Tartan Army if he did opt for Scotland but believes his skills as player would eventually win over the majority of supporters.

"You would get some for and some against," he said.

"As we have seen from some of the Press reports, everybody rightly has an opinion on it.

"I think there would be some against it but, hopefully, the majority would be for it because the most important thing is that I don't think we are good enough at the moment to pick and choose which players can and can't play for us.

"The added fact with Driver is that I think he has a little bit of flair and he is a player the Tartan Army would take to in terms of the way he plays the game."