Ray Houghton Explains Why He Chose Ireland Over Scotland

Ray Houghton, a former midfielder for Liverpool, stated that his decision to play for the Republic of Ireland stemmed from the fact that he was “never asked” to join the Scottish national team, following a trial described as having “didn’t go very well”. Houghton, who was born in Glasgow and earned 72 caps for Ireland between 1986 and 1997, underwent a trial during his teenage years when Andy Roxburgh held the position of Scotland boss. During an appearance on the Sacked in the Morning podcast, he remarked: “I’ve got to be honest with you, it didn’t go very well.” He further elaborated, stating: “The manager, a certain Mr Andy Roxburgh, didn’t take to the lads from England, to be honest with you.” Houghton recounted: “There were I think it was five or six, there were two or three lads from Middlesbrough, one from Millwall, a striker, and myself. And he didn’t have a clue where we played. “We were playing in a small game at Largs in the indoor, five-a-side thing. And he said, ‘Right, you Anglos get a team together.’ So he didn’t really endear us to being there.” He continued: “And I didn’t do particularly well. I did all right. He didn’t even know where I played. He just said to me, well, at the last game, go and play on the wing.” Houghton recalled his response: “I said, I play in the middle. He went, ‘Just go and play on the wing.'” Houghton later encountered Roxburgh at the Anfield training ground, where Roxburgh inquired: “Why didn’t you come and play for Scotland?”. Houghton’s reply was: “One, I was never asked. No one ever asked me. You can’t go somewhere you are never asked to go.” He added: “And I said, ‘By the way, when I was under 18 and you were the manager, you weren’t very engaging towards us’. He was a lovely fellow, I got on great with Andy after that.”