Lewis is from a family like mine where football comes first. It gives you a hell of an advantage
WITH the man who scored Scotland’s most famous goal for a father, no-one needs to tell Scot Gemmill what it’s like to grow up in a family immersed in football.
So he knows exactly where Aberdeen’s current teen sensation Lewis Ferguson is coming from... and applauds the fact that he has taken full advantage of his roots.
The 19-year-old midfielder, son and nephew of Rangers icons Derek and Barry respectively, has made a huge impression at Pittodrie since his summer move from Hamilton — complementing a series of eye-catching midfield performances with vital goals against the likes of Burnley, Rangers and Kilmarnock.
That’s already prompted some to demand that the precocious youngster should be fast-tracked into the senior Scotland squad as soon as possible.
But, for now anyway, he will spend this week in the south of Spain with Gemmill’s Under-20s squad before they face Turkey on Saturday night in Murcia.
Gemmill, who followed his dad Archie into the game, admits that young Ferguson has been equally fortunate to grow up in a football-obsessed environment.
And he’s delighted to see that the Dons kid is now harnessing his natural abilities by reaping the benefits of that priceless education.
‘I think his family background gives him a real advantage in terms of that mentality and the right advice,’ said the former Everton and Scotland international.
‘I was very lucky to have a famous father, too, when I was young.
‘I can really be confident that Lewis will be getting, and will have had, a solid upbringing in terms of football and having the correct attitude. I think you’re starting to see that already.
‘If I sit and think about it now, there’s no doubt how valuable it is. When you’re immersed in it and you’re part of it, it feels completely normal. But only now I can look back and see it through someone else’s eyes.
‘That immersion in it, that’s where the real fabric and the real heart of it is.
‘You just live and breathe football in a house, in a family where — and it probably sounds crazy to some people — football comes first.
‘To be brought up in a family, in a household where that is the case really does affect the person you are, so I’m sure it gives him an unbelievable advantage. He’s already starting to show how important that can be.’
Ferguson wasted no time bursting on to the scene at Pittodrie after his switch from Accies, scoring a spectacular overhead kick against Burnley in a Europa League second round qualifying match at Turf Moor.
His dynamic displays were one of the few positives for Derek McInnes’ Dons during an otherwise stuttering start to the campaign for the club.
But he then ignited their season with a headed winner against Rangers in the Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden. Since then Aberdeen have gone from strength to strength, climbing the Premiership table with three straight victories, including Ferguson’s late freekick winner against Killie at Rugby Park. ‘Lewis has already scored some really high-profile goals,’ noted Scotland Under21s coach Gemmill (left). ‘There is no better way to influence games than doing that. He’s started strongly at Aberdeen and has shown he can help the team at a high level. That’s a real testament to a young player, to have that ability and to be able to handle it. If you meet him, he seems very grounded and very humble.
‘He says all the right things and wants to learn. We know that’s a very important part of it, too. When a young player does have success very quickly, it’s whether they can remain focused and still have that ambition and drive to keep pushing on.
‘He’s really showing that he is capable of doing that. You have to credit Aberdeen’s recruitment of him.
‘He did well at Hamilton, but he’s now gone to a big team and in a short space of time he’s hit the ground running.
‘He’s affecting games and has become an important player really quickly. Even his manager is commenting on the fact it’s happened possibly faster than they could have anticipated.
‘Aberdeen have made his transition very easy and he’s been able to take advantage of that.’
Gemmill, meanwhile, has defended his decision to take this weekend’s game against Turkey in the middle of a break from a busy season — and insists he needs to take a look at some of the new blood coming through.
‘Officially, it’s an Under-20s game but it’s next year’s Under- 21s team,’ he said.
‘Access to players is restricted at this level. You have to try to utilise these breaks as much as possible.
‘I would play every chance we get. I don’t think there’s anything better than playing and giving the young players international experience and trying to really ramp it up so they quickly start to get real weight to their CVs in terms of experience playing against these teams.’