Scotland boss Alex McLeish says there's no reason for Rangers defender David Weir not to play on until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"David defies logic," McLeish observed. "Even now, he doesn't want to miss any game. When I told him I'd be resting him for our friendly against South Africa, I could see how disappointed he was, even though he understood the reasons. I'm full of admiration for him, and for the amount of desire he still has at that age. That can wane as you get older: 'I'm not going to put my face in there; I've done all this before; I've had it with pre-season training; enough's enough.' All that.

"But the big fella must be so inspirational to his team-mates. His performances have been top class.

"I would never say: 'Right, Davie, that's it. You're 37 now, and I'm looking to play younger men.' If he's the man for the job, and he still wants to do it, then I'd be foolish to discard him. As far as I'm concerned, it's up to the younger challengers to displace big Davie, and at the moment he's making it extremely difficult for anyone to get anywhere near it."