Source: Northern_Echo
Carroll considers Scotland
ANDY CARROLL is ready to set his international sights on the Scotland squad, despite a string of impressive performances for England Under-21s. The Newcastle striker has become a regular in Stuart Pearce's representative side, but despite scoring 12 goals this season, he remains well down the pecking order when it comes to selection for Fabio Capello's senior squad. That has alerted officials at the Scottish Football Association, who are aware that Carroll qualifies to play for the Tartan Army thanks to a Scottish grandmother. SFA chief scout Michael Oliver has identified 21-yearold Carroll as one of a number of English-based players who could bolster Craig Levein's squad ahead of the European Championships qualifying campaign. While the Gateshead-born marksman continues to regard himself as English, he is considering a switch of allegiance that would fast-track him towards a full international cap. I've heard I am wanted by Scotland, said Carroll, whose 82nd-minute equaliser earned Newcastle a valuable point in Saturday's Tees-Tyne derby. I'm obviously doing well with the England Under-21s and I'll see what's happening there, but I'd be lying if I said the Scotland thing wasn't in the back of my mind. It's nice to know I'm wanted. But England is where I'm from, and that's who I want to play for really. A few of the backroom staff at Newcastle are Scottish (most notably assistant manager Colin Calderwood and physio Davey Henderson) and they are getting on at me about playing for Scotland. They keep telling me to get up there, and you never know, that might be what ends up happening. We'll just have to see how it goes. Scotland fielded Rangers duo Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd when they beat Czech Republic in a friendly this month, but the presence of Bristol City loanee Chris Iwelumo on the bench underlines the limited nature of their attacking options. Carroll has developed into a regular Championship goalscorer this season, and his strike rate of almost a goal every other game has been a major factor in Newcastle's rise to the top of the table. It was a good result, he said. Forest getting beat helps, but we just need to concentrate on what we are doing. I always thought we had the quality to get the equaliser. It looked like it was slipping away, but it just shows our resilience to dig out a result. It wasn't the best performance we have turned in from the whole team, and I thought I was poor too, but we all stuck together and worked hard.