Born in Dumfries, capped against Australia at Hampden and intensely proud of his Scots roots, the versatile Leeds United player expressed annoyance at being requested to give another public declaration of his nationality.

Matteo will, of course, finally lay the English ghost to rest on Saturday by representing Scotland in a competitive international, against Belgium in the World Cup qualifying tie.

But the 26-year-old's mother assured Soccernet there never was any doubt within the Matteo household as to which country her son would represent.

Marie Matteo, along with her husband, Albert, and countless relatives and friends will travel north from the family home in Southport, Lancashire, to Hampden this weekend.

Having watched her son progress from Liverpool's youth team to the international stage, the Group Six match will represent Marie's proudest moment.

And, like Dominic, she is at great pains to stress that, despite having featured in two England squads, the call from north of the border was the one for which he longed.

'I am delighted he is coming up to play for Scotland,' said Marie last night. 'His dad is very excited as well and both of us are very proud of Dominic.

'If Dominic is happy, then we are happy. We still have photographs of him as a little tot in his Scotland football outfit so we know he will be happy on Saturday.

'He had a little, tiny tracksuit when he was young and then he wanted the Scotland strip. He was only five-years-old when we brought him down here but he still wanted only Scotland gear.

'Come every birthday or Christmas, it was always football gear which Dominic wanted - and it was always Scotland or Queen of the South kit.

'I used to telephone a sports shop back in Dumfries, then send them a cheque by post and they would send the kit down to us in South-port.

'This went on from when Dominic was aged around six until he was maybe ten. I've probably still got all the little kits because we never parted with anything.

'He always wanted to play for Scotland and a lot of friends are coming up with us on Saturday. Unfortunately, his brother, Victor, will be working at the dairy that he manages in the town and he won't be able to get away to see the game.'

Matteo, who once sat on England's bench for a friendly against Switzerland under Glenn Hoddle, dreamed of pulling on the dark blue jersey as he played with school friend Paul Dalglish.

The close pals, of course, graduated to the Anfield school of excellence as teenagers and, according to Marie, their friendship endures to this day.

Given that Matteo's thoughts could have been monopolised by a fire at one of his houses earlier this week, there can be few who can harbour any more doubts about his allegiance to Scotland's World Cup cause.

The Tartan Army once welcomed Lancashire-born Andy Goram from the Hampden substitutes' bench with the cry: 'You're not English any more.'

And Matteo - the only Scot among 400 of Europe's elite players listed for the second phase of the Champions League - can expect similar treat-ment from a full house at the National Stadium on Saturday.

It is a prospect which excites Matteo, who will be deployed at left wing-back, after the disappointment of his 2-0 debut defeat to the Socceroos last November. 'We were very disappointed after that match,' he admitted. 'Australia surprised everyone and it would be nice to bounce back with a win on Saturday.

'I got a taxi from the airport today and the cab driver was saying it should be a full house and a good atmosphere. He was even after a couple of tickets.

'Belgium are favourites to win the group and I know they have a lot of good players, having played against Anderlecht in the Champions League.'

Matteo, however, will not be in awe of the group leaders, given that Leeds enjoyed home and away victories over the Belgian champions in eliminating them from European competition.

Pushing the Belgian national side closer to World Cup elimination while assisting Scotland's path towards next summer's finals in Japan and Korea would further endear him to the Tartan Army.

But maybe Matteo has been accepted to the collective bosom of the support already, having rejected overtures from new England manager Sven Goran Eriksson in recent weeks. 'There was no attempt by the England staff to speak to me personally,' added Matteo.

'I'm Scottish and I was not going to turn my back on Scotland. I was flattered by the attention but I'm glad to say I'm Scottish.

'All people seem to want to talk about is England - maybe we should talk about Scotland.

'I play for Scotland and I'm totally committed to Scotland. I'm not going to change my mind - I was born in Scotland and my father is Scottish. My dad will be here with my family on Saturday and he is delighted.'

Mr and Mrs Matteo, along with around 52,000 others, would be even happier should their son play his part in a victory which would propel Scotland to the top of their qualifying group.

With San Marino due at the National Stadium next Wednesday, the forthcoming double-header could push Scotland closer to a place at next year's eastern extravaganza.

It could also place Matteo firmly in the hearts of Scotland supporters and end any lingering suspicion over his true national allegiance.