on 7 October 2006, O'Connor and the rest of the team were given an evening off before reconvening ahead of the trip to Ukraine for another qualifying match. O'Connor failed to rejoin the squad and was axed from the travelling party by manager Walter Smith. O'Connor subsequently issued an apology through his agent without revealing the exact cause of his failure to appear, while assistant manager Tommy Burns announced that O'Connor was unlikely to be frozen out of the squad permanently. O'Connor said that his wife was unhappy with life in Moscow and he had decided to stay with her rather than return to training. He was recalled to the Scotland squad in May 2007 under new manager, and his former boss at Hibs, Alex McLeish. Initially drafted in due to squad call-offs, O'Connor was given a place in the starting line-up for the friendly match with Austria and scored the only goal of the game. Seven days later, he scored in the 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying victory over the Faroe Islands. After appearing against the Ukraine in October 2007, O'Connor was left out of the Scotland squad for almost two years, was recalled for the matches in September 2009 against Macedonia and the Netherlands after Kevin Kyle withdrew due to injury. Coaching career On 28 October 2015, O'Connor was appointed as Selkirk caretaker manager following the sacking of Steve Forrest, a role he continued until the appointment of Ian Fergus. Personal life In August 2020, a documentary entitled "Playing the Game- Garry O'Connor" aired on BBC Scotland. The programme charted O'Connor's career and explored his troubles with substance abuse, mental health issues and early retirement from football. Whilst being interviewed for the programme, O’Connor revealed that he had considered suicide towards the end of his playing career, citing the love of his family and his responsibility towards his three children as motivation for seeking help through mental health counselling. O'Connor lost the fortune he made as a footballer, and had to move out of his mansion and into a council house. His son Josh is also a footballer, who plays in the same position. Josh signed a first professional contract with Hibernian in January 2021 and made his first team debut in March 2022. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first; score column indicates score after each O'Connor goal. Honours Lokomotiv Moscow Russian