Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has gone against most fellow Scotsman by saying he would love to see Scottish players opt for the Great Britain football team.
Team GB, to be coached by Stuart Pearce, will field a team in the 2012 London Olympics to be made up of players from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales provided the Football Associations involved agree to it.
With many prominent Scottish football people not wanting to be linked with Team GB, McLeish feels that some young Scotsman, including Villa midfielder Barry Bannan, could be perfect contenders for Pearce's squad.
"I think there are a lot of good candidates and Barry could be one of them," McLeish told the Daily Record.
"It all depends on what Stuart Pearce thinks.
"He will collaborate with the managers from the other British nations and it would be nice to have Scots in the squad."
He added: "I know that everybody is worried about the dates with them potentially taking players out of your squad for the new season.
"But I've had experience of that when I was at Rangers with some Australian players who went to the Olympics.
"It is something they had dreamed about as kids growing up - participating in the Olympics at some stage. So I would have no gripe with players wanting to go.
"We had a Champions League campaign and Craig Moore chose to go away to the Olympics.
"Now, perhaps we don't understand that mentality because we have never had a British football team in the Games before.
"But in countries outside of Britain the kids grew up wanting to participate in the Olympics and it is a dream for their families.
"Whether the players dictate this one remains to be seen.
"It is the Olympic Games and that is quite a thought and a fantastic challenge."
