Fitting time to honour two sporting greats

Campaigns to see two Scottish sporting legends immortalised in statue form are under way.

Dundee United supporters are now fundraising in a bid to raise the £70,000 they need for a statue of former manager Jim McLean, a man who turned the Tannadice side into league champions and European contenders.

In Fife, a drive to commemorate Jocky Wilson’s second World Darts Championship in 1989 could also see a statue of the Lang Toun great erected.

Both men are deserving of such accolades.

It is no exaggeration to say McLean’s achievements at Dundee United are some of the most remarkable in Scottish football.

After succeeding Jerry Kerr he turned United into perennial trophy contenders, 1982-83 league champions and European Cup semi-finalists and Uefa Cup finalists.

Football may not have been the multi-billion-pound enterprise it is today, but taking a provincial club to such heights is a feat for the ages.

Wilson’s accomplishments are no less impressive. He overcame a difficult upbringing and health problems to reach the very pinnacle of his sport and was one of the country’s best-loved sportsmen.

That both men are still regarded with such fondness and respect three decades after their greatest successes is testament to sport’s enduring power to inspire across the generations.