MARTIN’S A POP IDOL FOR SCOTS
Martin would love to gift dad a goal on his birthday to wrap up crazy season
CHRIS MARTIN is hoping for a dream finish to a nightmare campaign.
The Scotland striker admits he’s had a crazy 12 months but grabbing a winner against England on his dad’s 60th birthday would draw a line under the silly season in spectacular fashion.
It has been a tough year for him. Punted by Derby on loan to Fulham, he tried to cut his stay short after Rams boss Nigel Pearson got the boot.
He ended up on strike then frozen out and while the hitman battled back at Craven Cottage he even got booed by the Tartan Army when he came off the bench at Hampden against Slovenia in March.
But the rollercoaster ride took an upward swing with his late winner to save Scotland’s skin and he’d love to end the wild spell on a high point against the Auld Enemy on Saturday.
Martin, 28, said: “It’s probably the strangest season of my career, especially off the field. Hopefully there is a real positive twist to end an up-and-down season.
“Football is like that at times. It can be a rollercoaster but not all in the one season. Sometimes you need to ride the wave and hopefully I can top it off with a real high against England.
“It has been crazy. I don’t want to go into too much detail but if I told people what happened they wouldn’t believe me. I’ve seen a lot in my career and I’d like to think I’m fairly mature. “I tried to deal with it the best way I could but that contributed to what happened on the pitch. I’ll put it down to experience and go again next season. I’m just looking forward to Saturday and hopefully playing my part in a win.”
A hero’s role would be extra sweet for the Martin clan – especially the striker’s Glaswegian dad Gerry.
Martin said: “Another last-minute winner wouldn’t be bad. My dad actually mentioned it. It’s his birthday on Saturday so I’ll be buzzing if I can play any kind of part and recreate what happened last time.
“My dad will be up for the game. He was delighted last time as were the rest of my family. There were about 15 then and there will be a fair few this time.
“He moved to England when he was 20 or 21 but he’s from Glasgow and he’s the reason I’m here. He has been a big part in the Scottish bandwagon and the family are all up here. Hopefully I can score the winner for them.
“My dad was always strong on our Scottish heritage so I never had the choice. You don’t mess with your dad.”
Martin admits the Slovenia goal was a turning point. He signed a new deal at Derby and will return for pre-season but his focus is on getting Scotland a step back on the road to Russia. Martin insisted there were no hard feelings about the boo boys and he’d love to be the Hampden hero again.
He added: “I am still on a high from it now. The memories are still fresh. It was pretty special as it got us back on track. As much as we tried to play it down at the time, it was a vital win.
“I was really happy with it and hopefully we can take the confidence from that game into Saturday.
“I’ve not had too many Scotland fans saying sorry. They don’t need to apologise to me. They can voice their opinion all they like. Hopefully I can change their minds if they don’t have a high opinion in the first place.
“I am a professional and my job is to get out on the pitch and get the winner. I was lucky enough for that to happen.
“Can I do it again? Every lad can dream. Everyone will be hoping they are the one who can step up, score the winner or contribute in a big way.
“I’d be delighted if it was me but getting the three points would be massive and it doesn’t really matter who puts the goal in. Another win would bring England closer to us and it would be huge for the country.”
I am still on a high from it now. It was pretty special as it got us back on track CHRIS MARTIN