O'Brien may be set for Scotland

Picture copyright Livingston FC www.livingstonfc.co.uk

The Livingston midfielder was born in South Africa and their Scottish manager Stuart Baxter was keen to recruit the 23-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

But that seems impossible because the regulations have changed and the South Africans have missed the new deadline.

Scottish Football Association spokesman Andy Mitchell explained: "Fifa changed the regulations regarding eligibility and the cut-off date for applications was 31 December last year.

"If you have played a competitive game for one country you can no longer change to another unless you are under 21 - and Burton O'Brien isn't."