NEVER STOP BELIEVING
Robbo, Stephen and I were all dumped by Celts but we never gave up hope of reaching top
STEVE CLARKE could pick a back four against Israel on Thursday that includes a trio who have suffered the heartache of being cut loose by Celtic as kids.
Everyone knows Andy Robertson’s journey from rejection at the age of 14 to becoming one of the world’s leading left-backs.
But Motherwell duo Declan Gallagher and Stephen O’Donnell have also travelled a long way from being told they’d have to carve out a career for themselves away from the bright lights of Parkhead.
Gallagher, 29, has been involved in Scotland squads for a year now – today is the first anniversary of his first inclusion – and admits he’ll never take it for granted.
But he also knows the footballing rags to riches tale can be an inspiration to anyone who’s been told they’re not good enough.
He said: “The best example of that is Robbo. He’s a Champions League winner, playing for the best team in England.
“He was at Queen’s Park then Dundee United, so he has experienced life at the bottom of Scottish football and is now at the top of European football, so I think everybody can take inspiration from him - even myself, at the age of 29.” Gallagher has made mistakes and has spoken openly in the past about how he had to rebuild his career after serving a jail term for a serious assault.
But even before that he had to pick up the pieces after being shattered by his departure from Celtic in 2011. He moved to Clyde and with the help of his parents, Pat and Nadine, never stopped believing he could become a full-time footballer all over again.
He said: “You have to believe that. Otherwise, it’s just pointless.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, then you can’t expect anyone else to believe in you. You have to have that self-belief.
“When I went down to Clyde from Celtic, I went from full-time football to part-time and I put all my dedication into it. My dad told me he would pay for my gym membership and the likes, and that I had to train like a full-time player and get back to full-time football.
“That’s what I did. I pushed hard, I worked hard and with dedication and with managers like Jim Duffy at Clyde to help me, I got there.
“Jim was great for me. He told me if I did well for him, he would help me get back into full-time football and that’s exactly what happened when I went from Clyde to Dundee.
“That was the make or break year for me. I had to make it back to fulltime football or I’d have had to go out and get a job. “I’ve always thanked my mum and dad for everything they’ve done for me. My dad is one of the biggest influences of my career. Even now he’s telling me bits and pieces about my game that I can work on.” Covid’s made it impossible for his family to be at Hampden on Thursday but Gallagher knows they, and the rest of the nation, will be rooting for Scotland. He said: “We have to be fully focussed on the Israel game. We know how important it is for the nation. “We know 50,000 fans had bought tickets for this game and they can’t be there but we know how much it means to them and how much it means to us. “We’ll be giving it everything to make sure we get to the final.”
If youdon’t lf yourse in believe expect youcan’t else to anyone inyou believe ER GALLAGH DECLAN