Tears make special TV moment as Spoony thanks his mum&dad
Rewards for years of sacrifice
in Winnipeg. Shelia explains: “I don’t remember too much about Canada. I came over here when I was five with my mum and dad.
“But my dad worked over there for quite a few years and is very proud that David is playing for Canada now.
“I’ve got two or three relations in Canada and they are proud as well. It’s such a nice feeling for him to be part of history.
“He always wanted to do it when he had the chance. I’ve kept so many photographs from through the years and even back when he was in the Scotland squad too. The one that sticks out is when he was up against Virgil van Dijk.
“It’s such a great photograph and he scored the winner against the Netherlands.”
That special moment arrived at under-21 level and dad Ian had hoped caps for the senior squad would follow.
“They never came back for him. In my mind, it’s because he plays for St Johnstone,” Ian says.
Yet Wotherspoon has cherished memories at the national stadium where this season he has lifted the League Cup and Scottish Cup.
The latter, on Saturday, was thanks to a 1-0 win over former club Hibs. He set up the winner, helped by a piece of trickery that has become legendary to Perth fans – The Wotherspoon Chop.
Ian laughs: “It’s just a case of practise, practise, practise and trying all the wee tricks.
“I think he went out one day, did it and then thought he would be able to do it again. He perfected it. And he does the roll with the bottom of his foot.
“When you see him getting into these corner positions you think: ‘Where’s he going this time?’ He’s going to turn them inside out.
“You look back at the 2014 cup final win and he turned Andy Robertson and stuck him on his a***.
“The thing with David is that he’s so versatile. I think he’s played everywhere but in the goal.
“The coach at Celtic, Martin Miller, did say to him his best position would be running in behind the front two.”
As the Wotherspoons watched the Hampden celebrations unfold on Saturday, they just wished they were able to be there.
“It’s unfortunate, because of COVID-19, we’ve not been able to see his best season live,” Ian said. “It has been hard.”
And he laughed: “We’ve been retired since September but haven’t seen a bloody game.”
Rest assured, though, that when crowds return they will be front and centre cheering on their son.