Hearts winger Driver's hopes of playing for his adopted country appeared to have been dashed in February when it emerged he did not fulfil new qualification criteria.

It had been assumed the Oldham-born 22-year-old was eligible for selection under the five-year 'school rule' agreed by the home nations last year.

But, despite moving to Scotland at the age of 11, Driver fell two months short of having been educated in the country for a full five years.

New national team boss Levein is now hoping to get the rules relaxed further to allow Driver to switch allegiance from England, who he represented at Under-21 level last summer.

Levein, who is something of a mentor to Driver after helping guide him through the youth ranks at Hearts, said: "I still haven't given up on Andy. I'm still hoping we can do something with that.

"I'm hoping we can rewrite or reword the current agreement. It is a kind of gentleman's agreement between the four nations which then gets lodged with FIFA, so there is still a possibility and we are working on that."

Levein hopes to include Driver in his European Championship qualifying plans next season but added: "I really don't know what timescale we are looking at. It is something we are trying to do something about but how long that takes... I'm not up to speed on the workings at that level and how long it takes to do anything.

"There have been early noises made about it. I'm not saying it is definitely going to happen or that it's not going to happen but I am saying that it is something I have not given up on."

Driver, who played for Scotland Schoolboys, said in Scotland on Sunday: "I said last time that I would love to play for Scotland but then it all broke down. But I would still love to be involved and I have been kept in touch with what is happening.

"I know there are rules but I think it is the wording that is the problem. It all comes down to a technicality and that's why we are hoping they will amend it to make it clear what they mean by a school year."

The discovery of Driver's ineligibility caused some embarrassment all round in February, with talk about the winger playing for the national team having been mooted for months beforehand.

The Scottish Football Association insisted that, despite the ongoing speculation, they had no cause to look into his background while George Burley was Scotland manager because the latter had no intention of picking him.