CRAIG Levein made no apologies for pulling Rangers midfielder Ian Black into his Scotland squad and last night said he was baffled about why the issue was being treated as a big deal.

Black's inclusion, just a week after the Scotland manager had said it would be difficult for Rangers players to be considered now that the club was in the third division, sparked an angry response on social media sites.

Levein was irritated that the issue has overshadowed stories such as Jordan Rhodes starting tonight's friendly against Australia at Easter Road and Darren Fletcher returning from illness to play for Manchester United at Aberdeen last night.

But many supporters have been more concerned with Black's call-up.

"I find the Ian Black thing quite funny," said Levein. "I don't understand. For me it's fairly simple: he's the next on the list for that position, so I brought him into the squad. I don't even understand why people are even concentrating on it."

Levein claimed he had not contradicted himself by picking a Rangers player so soon after last week's remarks. "The statement was made that the door's not closed on anybody. Then I find that this is something that we're concentrating on when we've got Jordan Rhodes playing, Danny Fox playing, what I consider to be quite upbeat and important stories.

"If we can talk about Jordan Rhodes, why do we pick on a story that is spun to be negative? Ian Black is a guy who's come into the squad, would have been in the squad last year, he was the best player at Hearts last year, he was the best player in the Scottish Cup final, I was going to bring him into the group, and he moved to Rangers. We lose a few, he comes into the squad and, all of a sudden, it's a story!"

Craig Bryson and Kris Commons, were overlooked because they were not the type of player Levein needed tonight, he said. Curiously Black is not similar in style to any of the players who withdrew from the original squad: James Forrest, Graham Dorrans and Jamie Mackie.

Rhodes, the Huddersfield striker who scored 40 goals last term, will start an international match for the first time, while Danny Fox will win his first cap in almost two years. Levein insisted he had not ruled out the prospect of Fletcher playing in next month's World Cup double-header against Serbia and Macedonia. Fletcher has been out since December due to a serious bowel disorder, but played the closing 30 minutes of Neil Simpson's testimonial and was given a standing ovation at Pittodrie.

"You might call me silly but I am still hopeful he has a chance of being available," said Levein. "It is a tall order but I have not given up on it. I would love to have him for all the games but it will be dictated by Manchester United.

"What happened to him would have broken people who aren't as strong as him. It is early days yet and I don't want to go too deeply into what has happened with his treatment.

"But he has trained in all the sessions so far and although he looks a bit off the pace, it is just good to see him on the training ground."

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