IT’S SAMMUT SPECIAL FOR BILLY AT BLUES
RUBEN SAMMUT reckons Billy Gilmour will have Chelsea stars in his eyes when he reports for his first training session.
But he has told the former Rangers kid not to be fazed by his Blues move and take full advantage of the top-class treatment at Premier League champions.
Sammut has been at Stamford Bridge since the age of eight and captains the club’s Under-23 side.
He has vowed to help his fellow Scotland youth cap settle in London.
The 19-year-old is in France as part of Scot Gemmill’s squad for the Toulon Tournament, the Maidstone-born midfielder qualifying through his Fifeborn grandmother.
Gilmour’s £500,000 switch will become official when he celebrates his 16th birthday on June 11 and he could soon be up close with the likes of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas.
Sammut knows better than anyone what he can expect having been at the club for 11 years and with a contract until the end of next season.
And he said of his early days: “We used to train right next to the first-team pitch and when I was younger I used to catch the likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry.
“Billy might even get a chance to train with the first team. For me it wasn’t daunting – it was exciting.
“You want to get as much use of the facilities and the coaching as you can. For him, he should be excited. He shouldn’t be anxious.
“If he is put into digs he will be very well looked after. They make sure you eat the right stuff, they have a curfew you have to adhere to.
“There won’t be any problems off the pitch. All of the boys live in the same area. You stay with a host family which is walking distance from the club.
“I would try and help him settle as a fellow Scot. I would be happy to become a mentor to him.
“Hopefully, I’m someone he can look up to. I have heard about his Victory Shield performances and how well he did at that.
“By coming to Chelsea he’s got the facilities to help him develop as a player. He’ll go into a full-time programme where he is training every day with a game on the Saturday.
“He will be very well looked after and monitored. He’ll have a game in the morning and a gym session in the afternoon with full use of the facilities.”
While Sammut doesn’t want playmaker Gilmour to be daunted by his Chelsea challenge he reckons the same applies for Scotland when they face Brazil today.
After losing their opening Toulon group game 3-2 to Czech Republic they are looking to bounce back against the young samba stars who laboured to a 1-0 win over Indonesia in their first fixture.
Sammut said: “I’ve never played South American opposition or anyone of the calibre of Brazil so it will be a good test for us.
“It would be nice to cause an upset. We can’t let the occasion get too big for us. It’s just about trying to work together and try to grind out a result.
“We shouldn’t be intimidated by then. I’ve trained with David Luiz and Willian this season and they are a class act.
“They are friendly and welcoming. You can see their quality on the pitch. If the Brazil team we play are of that kind of quality it will be a huge test for us.” TOSH McKINLAY’S only game against England ended in crushing disappointment yet still provided him with one of the proudest moments of his career.
The Scotland left-back will be forever grateful his dad, with whom he’d travelled to Wembley as a kid, saw him line up against the Auld Enemy at Euro 96.
But the moment will always be bittersweet given the 2-0 defeat. And 21 years on, McKinlay remains gutted at the manner in which Paul Gascoigne put us to the sword – and a little bit in awe of how Stuart “Psycho” Pearce worked himself into a frenzy before kick-off.
But McKinlay wants to see that kind of passion in Scotland shirts next week when Gordon Strachan’s team take on the English in a must-win World Cup qualifier.
The ex-Celtic star still laments the fact Gary McAllister missed a spot-kick – which would have tied the scores at 1-1 – as Scotland were then undone by a moment of footballing genius by Rangers midfielder Gazza.
McKinlay said: “The England v Scotland game at Wembley in Euro 96 was a fantastic occasion.
“The thing I remember most of all was Pearce. He was giving it big licks singing the national anthem God Save The Queen and I mean big licks.
“Pearce looked like the Tasmanian Devil and he was getting so wound up I thought he was going to explode.
“He looked as if he wanted to rip off the Scotland players’ heads and murder every Scotsman that he came across.
“The game itself saw Alan Shearer open the scoring for England. Then Gary had the chance to equalise and missed his penalty because the ball famously rolled off the spot and David Seaman saved his kick.
“Then England went down the other end and somehow we were 2-0 down after Gascoigne scored.
“Gazza’s strike has since been voted the greatest goal at Wembley. It was sensational.
“England’s unforgettable dentist’s chair celebrations that followed were just typical Gazza.
“I remember jokingly have a go at Andy Goram who had saved everything that season for Rangers, especially against Celtic, and yet he couldn’t keep out Gazza’s effort.
“Gazza’s goal was a moment of brilliance and sometimes you have to doff your cap to that. I never let Goram forget it though.
“It was a real sickener and it is one of the worst feelings I have had playing for Scotland.
“It was a really bittersweet occasion. When I was younger I used to make the biannual pilgrimage to Wembley with my dad and uncles to see the Auld Enemy clash.
“Despite the fact we lost at Euro 96 one of the biggest thrills I got was the fact my old man was there to see me walk out and play at Wembley that day.”
McKinlay knows once again Scotland will be the massive underdogs against England despite playing in our own backyard.
However, he has urged a member of Strachan’s men to join the likes of Jim Baxter, Gordon McQueen, Kenny Dalglish, John Robertson and Richard Gough by writing themselves into Scottish football folklore by defeating the Auld Enemy.
McKinlay, who now works as an agent for Celtic media, insists even though nobody expects Strachan’s