CATCHING THE MEXICO WAVE
Bain reeling from whirlwind spell that took him from Alloa to Azteca, a Celtic deal and Scotland cap
FOR Scott Bain, the journey from Alloa to the Azteca has taken a little over four years — before moving at breakneck speed in the last six months.
Unwanted by Dundee in January, the 26-year-old moved on loan to Hibs as a back-up after rejecting a switch to Dunfermline.
An injury to Celtic and Scotland No 1 Craig Gordon then changed everything.
On transfer deadline day, not even a month after joining Hibs, his loan there was cancelled to enable him to become part of a transfer merry-goround, which saw Bain and Jack Hendry join Celtic from Dundee and Scott Allan, who had been on loan at Dundee from Celtic, move to Hibs on a similar deal.
Simon Murray was the final piece of the jigsaw, as he moved from Hibs to Dundee on loan. Yet Bain’s move to Celtic was as back-up to Dorus de Vries, with the expectation that he wouldn’t play a game.
Five months later, he has featured in the winning side in an Old Firm game at Ibrox, played his part in an historic double-Treble, signed a four-year permanent Celtic contract and made a 45-minute Scotland debut in one of world football’s great cathedrals.
‘The last game was the icing on the cake,’ admitted Bain in the wake of Scotland’s 1-0 defeat to Mexico. ‘You don’t know if you can cope with it, you don’t know if you can play at the level until you are thrown in there.
‘I am thankful to the manager (Alex McLeish) that he wanted to put me on in the second half there. He gave me an opportunity to show what I can do for Scotland.’
Bain’s rise marks one of the stories of the season. Signing for Dundee in 2014 from Alloa, the keeper’s fall-out with Dens manager Neil McCann last year cast his future into doubt.
Joining Hibs on loan, he never actually played for the Easter Road club thanks to a quirk of fate. The one game he might have played in was against Dundee but the terms of his loan meant he couldn’t play against his parent club. Had he done so, he would have played for two clubs in one season and would have been ineligible to join Celtic. ‘The journey didn’t feel that quick when I was getting up and going to building sites every day,’ he joked of his previous career as a labourer when he was playing part-time football.
‘No, it is mad when you look back to where I started. This season especially has probably summed up my whole career.
‘It shows you can be thrown to the side and then suddenly you are on top of the world. It has been great. The game on Saturday against Mexico topped it off.’
Bain admits his whole approach to the game has changed since moving to Parkhead. Where defeat was a fact of life before, he now expects to win every game.
‘I have got a new attitude since I went to Celtic,’ he continued. ‘I have a new mentality which has obviously been instilled by the manager and the players I am playing with.
‘It is a case of just getting better every day. I thoroughly enjoy playing in the big games, I thoroughly enjoyed facing Mexico and I hope that many more come.
‘I think I had the belief in myself that I could play at this level anyway, but it is nice to go on the pitch and do a decent enough job. I played the last game for Celtic against Aberdeen and probably should have done better for the goal.
‘That has kind of stuck in my mind. To come here and work as hard as I could, put in a good performance and show why I should be here was pleasing.’
Warned by McLeish that he would play the second half in Mexico, replacing Jon McLaughlin, the experience of being thrown into a 3-2 win for Celtic at Ibrox on the day of the game no doubt helped.
‘I am quite chilled so I was okay,’ he claimed. ‘Obviously, it was a difficult day before the Mexico game with a lot of travelling (from Peru). ‘It was just a case of resting up and being prepared. Nerveswise, I was fine. I thoroughly enjoyed it, getting thrown on there. It was an amazing place to play your first game for Scotland.’
Within three minutes of taking to the pitch, Bain was called into action to parry two long-range Mexican efforts on goal.
Aside from one sliced clearance, he presented a calm and composed figure in a Scotland shirt, dealing with the altitude of Mexico City and doing his hopes of another cap no harm at all.
‘You could see that they were a really good side,’ he said. ‘There is a reason they are going to the World Cup. I thought the boys played really well in terms of limiting them.
‘But as the game went on the boys got really tired because the game was played at altitude. It is a different game. It is very difficult.
‘If you watch the game back, you will see that the balls were moving a lot. It is to do with the thinness of the air.
‘They are up and down a lot more. But in terms of my breathing, it wasn’t a problem. I am lucky. I don’t need to run about.
‘The other players and I have all thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
‘Everyone has got to play a part in a game and everyone has come away with a cap and played at the highest level of international football. It has been a great trip.’
I’ve developed a new attitude at Celtic, which is instilled by the manager