In Scotland Andrew Driver is best known to the football public for two things.

A successful bid by that nation to convince the winger to switch his international allegiance from England – whom he represented in the 2009 European Under-21 Championships – prompted a widescale debate on eligibility rules. Vladimir Romanov's insistence that Burnley must pay £3.5m upfront for Driver, rather than the £2.5m offered, was earlier cited as a prime example of the former Hearts owner's mismanagement. The Lancashire club refused to bow to Romanov's demands.

It is to Driver's credit that he has since made a name for himself in a foreign land. A move to Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo last season saw Driver collect the club's newcomer of the year award, feature routinely in All Star teams and play a key part in progression to the Eastern Conference championship.

Now back in Scotland, the 26-year-old is awaiting his next move. "I loved the experience of it all," says Driver of his American season. "I had been at Hearts for a long time so the experience of travelling to and being in another country was something I loved; I got my buzz for football back.

"The standard in the MLS has risen. You only have to look at the big names who are going there now to realise that and realise the league is going in the right direction. But those star names aside, there are a lot of very good athletes in the league.

"You see the quality of stadiums, the level of investment in them and in the infrastructure and you realise it is a league on the way up. The heat in a lot of the venues, such as Houston, can slow the games down but you are still up against strong, physical guys. Some teams played on plastic pitches so there was real variation in environment every week."

Driver, who has spent time training with a Championship club this week, could still return to Texas if financial restrictions do not prevent it. There is also interest in him from the Far East.

"I wanted to stay at Houston but I am open to anything," he adds. "Being at Houston taught me that I am capable of going a long way from home and making things work; it was a completely new city but one I wanted to stay in. We haven't stopped talking to Houston. There are mitigating factors there such as salary caps and I understand them. I am open to any new challenge.

"This is the first time I have ever been a free agent, so it's all new. There are a lot of guys scrapping for clubs, so you have got to be strong. But some of it is exciting, as well; making arrangements and seeing what windows of opportunity are out there. This was also the first time I could enjoy Christmas properly in 10 years, without training and games around it."

Driver actually has cause to rue his own generosity. In an attempt to help Hearts, the club he joined straight from school, deal with a growing cash crisis he agreed to be paid sums due in wages and bonuses up to July 2013 until the end of that year. By June Romanov's business empire had toppled and Hearts were in administration with Driver – who was promptly made redundant – appearing on a creditors' list to the tune of £115,000. His reaction to that is impressively mature.

"That's the way football can be, that's the way life is so you just have to deal with it," Driver says. "I didn't blame anybody for it and I have my fingers crossed everything is sorted out at Hearts. The most important thing is that the clubs gets sorted.

"Obviously I was down a lot of money but I managed to get on with things, there are no hard feelings. I have good people around me, my dad in particular helped me out during some worrying times. That's life, you learn from it, there are a lot of people in far worse positions."

On the subject of the potential Burnley move, which arose in 2010 before Driver was beset by injury problems, the player is similarly philosophical.

"I think if you looked back at that, you would start over-thinking everything," he says. "I maybe was a little bit pissed off back at the time but you can mump and moan all you like; that isn't my style and life isn't all about money. It was something I wanted to do at the time but, if I had gone, I wouldn't have played in a Scottish Cup winning team [in 2012].

"I have always wanted to play in England and hopefully, fingers crossed, I will get that opportunity. I have ambitions but it's about seeing what comes up."

Driver's earlier fitness issue concerned a severe case of tendinitis. For a wide player with a strong burst of pace, that proved an obvious cause for concern.

"I started doing yoga and learning to manage my body a bit better. I don't feel any pain now," he says. "Towards the end of my time at Hearts I was getting back to the kind of performances that I knew I should be capable of. I thought I could get back to where I wanted to be.

"It was hard before then, thinking I needed another operation and wondering what on earth my body was going to be like in 10 years' time. I carried on playing for a while when I was injured and that affected things.

"Injury taught me that this career won't last forever and you have to enjoy things while you can. I had the same attitude in the States. I didn't know when it would all end, so was determined to relish every minute."

Driver will assuredly grab his new chapter, wherever that may be, with both hands.