Scotland's O'Connor explains no-show

Scotland striker Garry O’Connor has defended his reasons for failing to show up for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Ukraine.

O’Connor absented himself as the squad reassembled a day after the famous victory over France at Hampden, much to manager Walter Smith’s annoyance.

However, O’Connor, who moved from Hibernian to Lokomotiv Moscow for £1.6m (€2.4m) in March, has now explained his decision.

“After the France game everyone was allowed home and were required to gather again on Sunday at 7pm,” he told Russian newspaper Sport Express.

“But some problems came up with my wife Lisa, who is having serious difficulty adapting to life in Moscow. Therefore I considered it important to stay with her for two or three days and asked manager Walter Smith to let me go.

“My wife grew up in the countryside, and therefore at present she is finding it very difficult to adapt to such a huge city like Moscow.

“I am always on the move, and she has to spend a lot of time alone with our son Josh. Lisa doesn’t have many permanent friends here and it’s boring for her. Family for me comes above all else. In my view it’s a mountain out of a molehill.”

O’Connor also played down speculation he was keen to quit Lokomotiv for a quick return to Britain.

“I never said I wanted to leave Lokomotiv. I am fully determined to show everything I am capable of in the remaining matches and to help Loko win the title,” he added.

“I am not looking for anything better when I have it good here. So at the moment I don’t want to leave Lokomotiv for another club.”