Scotland role a big honour for Gordon
Not many people get the honour of taking charge of a national team.
But Perth’s Gordon McGillivray is getting that chance this week as Scotland’s futsal squad competes at Euro qualifiers in Belgium.
Futsal, a fast-paced five-a-side game played with a reduced bounce ball, has grown in popularity across the country in recent years.
McGillivray, who has great experience in the sport, is occupying the role of head coach in Herentals for the Scots’ three group matches.
Action kicked-off on Wednesday with a defeat against Montenegro before returning to the court the following day for a test against hosts Belgium.
The final face-off of the event will take place on Saturday when the Scottish squad looks to pick up a positive result against Armenia.
Determined McGillivray is stepping up to the hotseat in place of Scott Chaplain, who was unavailable for this particular trip.
“It’s a massive honour to be involved with the national team in any capacity,” McGillivray explained to the Perthshire Advertiser earlier this week.
“But to be asked to take the lead as head coach is a very proud moment for me. I have known for about a month so have had plenty of time to prepare.
“While I have been involved in the sport for over 20 years, this is certainly a new challenge for me and one I’m very excited about.”
McGillivray, a talented goalkeeper for a number of years, has played for the national team himself in recent times and hopes to pass on his experiences to the current crop.
“When I was still playing it was suggested to me that I might have an aptitude for it, so I did a few futsal courses,” he said.
“I realised the love I have for this sport, that I really enjoyed all elements of it. But I’ll leave it to others to say how good a coach I am!
“Continued progress and to try and gain our first points at this level is the goal.
“I believe that the players believe in the progress of the squad in the last two years and are ready to take the next step.”
The Scottish squad is mainly made of up players who ply their trade with the two Perth teams, Perth Saltires and Fair City Santos. They sit top of the country’s Super League standings and are both still to suffer a defeat this season.
From reigning champions Saltires, Kyle Ballingall, Bradley Steedman, Ahmed Aloulou, Scott Smith and Connor McLaren are all in the squad.
Making the Scots’ team from Fair City Santos are Ben O’Hanlon, Mark Duigan, Martin Cassells, Fraser
Smith, Alan Cunningham and Dayle Robertson - five of who have strong links to Perthshire.
McGillivray praised the commitment of the players - and coaches - for continuing to make Perth a key force in the development of Scottish futsal.
“The Perth teams account for a large proportion of the squad,” McGillivray said.
“But, as they have been the two best teams in the Super League in the last two seasons, it is probably not a surprise.
“The reason for both the Perth teams’ continued success is probably the hard work put in by numerous individuals to maintain standards.”