First team you supported as a boy?
Hearts - they’re the only team I’ve supported. My Dad was taking me to games when I was two years old, so it’s always been Hearts. My whole family on my Dad’s side are Hearts fans, and so is my uncle on my Mum’s side, so it was an obvious choice!
First game you watched live as a supporter?
I was only two, so I can’t remember it, but my Dad told me it was a Wednesday night game, so it wasn’t that responsible from my Dad, taking a two-year-old on what was probably a freezing Wednesday night in Edinburgh! The first one I can remember was on my sixth birthday, the 13th of May 2006, when Hearts played against Gretna in the Scottish Cup final and we won on penalties, then after there was a parade through Edinburgh to celebrate, so that was an incredible day! I actually went on to play with two of the team, Craig Gordon and Christophe Berra, at Hearts, then played under Paul Hartley at Falkirk and Robbie Neilson was my manager at Hearts as well!
First team you played for as a boy?
Musselburgh Windsor, a local team based ten minutes outside Edinburgh, and my Dad knew coaches there. I was just desperate to go and play football, so I ended up actually playing with the seven and eight year olds at the age of five! I remember the first game, I came on and the first action I had, the ball got smacked into my face and bust my nose! I was crying, but I shook it off and went back on again!
First position you played in as a boy?
At the start, in seven-a-sides, I was a left midfielder or a striker, and I used to be a goal machine! As it got to eleven-a-side, I became a centre mid and it was my position from then on.
First football hero?
Rudi Skácel. What a player! He played for Hearts and the Czech Republic and was probably a bit of a luxury player as he wouldn’t do so much running and all that, but his left foot and what he could do with the ball was unreal. He is an absolute Hearts legend and was top!
First football kit you wore?
It must have been a Hearts one… Aye, it was the white away shirt from the 2004/05 season, when I was a wee boy. That was my first one. I remember I also had the white away shirt from the following season, which was Hummel and had their arrows down the sides.
First mentor in football?
My Dad, who is also Andy. From when I was a kid, my Dad was my hero and he absolutely still is. I always looked up to him and wanted to do everything with him. When he was playing football, I wanted to go and watch his games and be in the changing room and stuff. He played for Edinburgh City and Cowdenbeath and won promotion from Scottish Division Two in 1992, so he played to a decent level.
First professional game you played in?
Yes, it was a good one! I went on loan from Hearts to Berwick Rangers and the first league game of the 2017/18 season was against Clyde. We won 3-1, I scored two and got into the Team of the Week! I was 17 and at 16 I’d signed full-time with Hearts and then, at the end of my first season playing for the U20s they were quite keen for me to go out on loan and get senior experience.
It toughened me up and got me ready for what real football is. I was at Hearts, the third biggest club in Scotland, where everything was done for me, then I went to Berwick and it was part-time and boys were coming from work with a packed dinner. I would train with Hearts, then go and train with them on a Thursday night, so it was quite eye-opening as they were so dedicated and worked so hard, as they had day jobs and wanted their win bonuses and stuff like that.
First professional goal you scored?
Yes, I remember Aaron Murrell drove with the ball on the counter-attack and I overlapped. We had a 3v2 and he got the ball to me on the left, I took a touch and hit it low across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. It was brilliant!
First international cap?
I first played for Scotland as an U14 and we went out to Holland to play against Holland and the Czech Republic. We played in Eindhoven and I remember the facilities were amazing. I scored in that game, too! I remember the ball got cut back to me and I drove it into the bottom corner first time.
We drew 1-1 and that was a really good result as Holland were regarded as a top side in that age group. Some of that Scotland team have gone on to play professionally, too - Stephen Kelly is with Livingston, Stephen Welsh is with Celtic and Zak Rudden has just signed with Queen’s Park - so that was another cool experience going away and playing for Scotland with them at that age!
