The hitch-hikers’ guide to pre-season training!
Modern- day footballers love a luxurious summer holiday.
Many of them jet off for a sunshine break as soon as the action ends, which doesn’t always look like the best preparation for pre- season training.
Although players of the past didn’t make the money to allow lavish trips, many did head for foreign climes.
The way two young Hearts’ players decided to experience a trip abroad raised a few eyebrows in the summer of 1970.
Drew Young and Brian Thom decided they would hitch- hike to the Mediterranean and back.
As Drew recalls, the journey proved to be a great boost for his hopes of breaking into the Jambo’s first-team.
He said: “I don’t know where we got the idea from, but we planned out a rough route on a map and took off.
“We had a picture taken wearing kilts as we were about to set off on the road trip.
“It was a pretty unusual thing for footballers to be doing, and it came as a bit of a surprise to our team-mates.
“The trip was a fantastic adventure. Although we knew we wanted to head to France, the way we went depended on where our next lift was going.
“We got a great reaction from people along the way. I think wearing the kilt definitely helped.
“There were times when we got put up in family homes, and everyone was really hospitable.
“We stayed in a hostel near Mont SaintMichel in France and ended up playing football with locals and visitors on the beach.
“When they found out we were professional footballers, we were sent to the front of the queue for food.
“We did a lot of walking over three weeks and reached the Spanish border. All that exercise really helped us for pre-season.
“I can’t see players doing that now. They just jump on a plane and they’re abroad in a couple of hours.”
It wasn’t long before Drew made his debut for Hearts – but his run in the first-team proved to be short-lived.
A change of manager ended his hopes of following up the European adventure with a transatlantic trip.
He went on: “My first game for Hearts came against Airdrie at Broomfield in the Texaco Cup.
“It came as a complete surprise when John Harvey announced I was in the team.
“I scored from 25 yards and set up a couple for Donald Ford in a 5-0 victory.
“That was the start of a run in the team, but things began to change when assistant manager Jock Wallace left for Rangers.
“Then Bob Seith took over as Hearts manager, and I began to appear less frequently.
“There was a tour to North America at the end of the season, and I already had my blazer.
“But I was given a free transfer in April. Missing the trip was a big disappointment.”
Drew, now 68, then had a season with Airdrie, before spending nine years at Hamilton Accies.
He said: “I had a few offers from England and went to Crystal Palace for a visit.
“I’d been down to Liverpool and met Bill Shankly when I was just a kid.
“There was more money down there, but my father wasn’t well at the time and I decided that family came first.
“Accies’ manager Ronnie Simpson told me that Jock Stein had made him aware that I was available.
“My time at Accies ended when I got a bad injury, but I then joined Montrose.
“I managed a season with them and they offered me the manager’s job at the age of 33.
“I considered it, but I got offered a job closer to home, working in leisure management. “I decided that was a better long-term bet. “But I looked after the team for a couple of months until they appointed Steve Murray.”