Boyd spinning just like DJ

Now, as he emulates the late Ally MacLeod in terms of staggering from one embarrassment to the next, George Burley could suffer the same fate for walking in those very footsteps.

During the doomed Argentina 78 World Cup fiasco, McLeod opted not to field Rangers' Derek Johnstone, who had just finished the season with 41 goals and a double Player of the Year award.

At the time, the manager's decision to overlook him - compounded when he fielded Joe Harper as a sub against Iran when he had just been working as a TV summariser for the infamous Peru opener - left the nation stunned.

It led to a clearly miffed Johnstone, now of course a man who calls it as he sees it in these pages, to march down the plane on the way back from South America to inform McLeod he never wanted to be picked again while he remained at the helm. Sound familiar?

The similarities with George Burley's usage of Kris Boyd -just seven minutes in the last three qualifiers - are uncanny.

Let's be clear on this: No player is bigger than the Scotland jersey or - for that matter - the club shirts they pull on every week.

Representing your country remains the ultimate accolade at any level of sport.

But, as Boyd proved with his decision yesterday to quit the Scotland set-up whilst Burley is manager, there are lines that can't be crossed, moments when national commitment becomes secondary to personal peace of mind.

When your pride has not so much been dented as battered up and down the length of Mount Florida, when you are made to feel worthless, barriers are quickly erected and, as is the case with Boyd, people can feel enough is enough.

The Rangers striker is within his rights to make the decision he has and there is justification for what he has just done, even if it's the last thing a beleaguered Burley needs.

Boyd has clearly posed himself this searching question; if his services were not required in the scenario Burley found himself in against Norway, then just when would they be?

And, is his rank in the pecking order now below a 30-year-old from Wolves earning his first cap, Chris Iwelumo, or Steven Fletcher from Hibs who is, although future development may change this, still essentially an under-21 level striker?

Many will accuse Boyd of throwing his toys out the pram as Burley gazed at his sub options at Hampden, and promptly blanked him.

Others will view it as individual right to say to his manager If you don't think I am good enough, why have me around?' Boyd, at 25, has 150 clubs goals and a record seven in 15 appearances for his country - yet he is not called upon when the nation needs a goal. Frankly, Burley's decision not to use him against the Norwegians, at some stage, was quite astonishing.

Boyd, of course, has his own troubles to seek at club level. There are stark comparisons to be drawn with what has happened to him now in Dark Blue and Light Blue.

Despite being a prolific goal machine, he finds himself often overlooked by his club manager, Walter Smith, for Old Firm games and European matches.

This is a source of serious frustration to Boyd who, it has to be said, has shown tremendous strength of character to keep going when so much of his time is spent warming the bench.

Even in recent times, Smith was quoted as saying that he would consider building his team around the ex-Kilmarnock player; then he was promptly back as a sub for the Hibs game on the afternoon of the very day those headlines appeared.

But, unlike club level, Boyd has the capability to take action on his Scotland situation. Rangers pay his wages, he has a contract there and he cannot say he will not turn out for them, in the way he has just done when it comes to Scotland.

Unless someone comes in and signs him, a move that suits all parties, Boyd will soldier on at Rangers and he has made this very clear. Despite his goals record, there was no plethora of offers over the last window.

There will be a time, maybe soon, when that changes. But it will have to be on the right terms, and after waiting for the chance to join his boyhood heros he feels within his rights to stick it out for as long as he can.

Scotland, however, presents a different scenario as, unquestionably, he is the best finisher Burley has at his disposal.

Boyd clearly viewed the Norway game as a watershed. After starting and scoring against Georgia and Lithuania in past qualifiers, he clearly felt this one would suit him.

In his own mind, at club level and also for Scotland, he has become accustomed to the fact he is unlikely to start away games in a 4-5-1 formation. It is not his forte, he doesn't have the tools for the job.

But at Ibrox on SPL duty, and at Hampden in vital qualifiers, Boyd is a different animal.

Only Burley can explain his omission. But hard on the heels of his comments about Kirk Broadfoot and limited ability, the decision to take the aforementioned Fletcher out of the under-21 scene for the Iceland game and not use him - leaving the junior side without their best player for their crucial decider in Denmark - and his point blank refusal to admits he gets tactics spectacularly wrong, this tenure is turning into a shambles.

By his own admission a 17-point target was set to try and keep the dream alive of making South Africa; after Saturday, we now need 13 from 15 points remaining to hit that mark.

There is no question it's all over, but it's slipping away at an alarming rate. Burley will pray that Holland win in Oslo this week, taking themselves clear, leaving the other four teams to scrap it out for a play-off spot.

Ironically, the home games we have left against Iceland and Macedonia will call for someone like Boyd, a predator who can sniff out and take chances.

As he glances around for those games - and the SFA will leave Burley at the helm unless he himself decides it's not happening - Boyd will be nowhere to be seen. For that, Burley only has himself to blame.