Thursday 4 October 2018 16:58, UK
Slavisa Jokanovic believes Tom Cairney is good enough to play for England but is unsure if the Fulham midfielder intends to switch his international allegiance from Scotland.
Nottingham-born Cairney represented Scotland at U19 and U21 level but has played only two friendlies for the senior side - allowing the possibility of a future England call-up.
Cairney was left out of the latest Scotland squad but manager Alex McLeish insists the omission is not related to the speculation surrounding his international future.
Jokanovic believes Cairney has enough talent to become a regular international footballer, for either Scotland or England.
"He is definitely a quality player," said the Fulham boss. "His choice at the moment is Scotland but there is a possibility he could switch in another direction.
"I believe he is a useful player for many coaches. For me, he is useful for both the Scottish and English national coaches too.
"He showed his quality over the last few seasons. Unfortunately for him, he didn't start this Premier League season with enough good luck, with this injury situation with him.
"Soon he will be in his highest level."
Jokanovic is reluctant to wade into the debate over international allegiances and says the decision should rest solely with the player.
"This is a private decision," he said. "I don't want to involve myself in this kind of decision. He is a free man for the choice which he believes is best for him."
Fulham face Arsenal on Sunday having already conceded 16 goals in the Premier League this season - the joint highest number in the division.
The Cottagers are also yet to keep a clean sheet since returning to the top flight and Jokanovic admits his side's poor defensive record is a cause for concern.
"We cannot be satisfied," he said.
"Some spells during these seven games have given us positive signals, but there is definitely huge room ahead of us for improvement.
"We must try and work hard to try and fix our problems. One of these problems is conceding so many goals and we are working to try and find a solution for this problem."
