Wishaw Press

David gives thanks for school janitor

Motherwell and Scotland U-20 recalls help

- Ben Ramage

Motherwell kid David Turnbull has burst on to the Scottish football scene after two excellent goals for the Fir Park side.

But the teenager has revealed he would have been lost to the game if it hadn’t been for his school janitor.

The midfielder was given his chance by Well boss Stephen Robinson this season and he has responded in some style, netting vital goals against St Mirren and Dundee in consecutiv­e weeks.

He topped that off with a call-up from Scot Gemmill for his Under20s squad, starting their bounce match against Turkey in Spain.

Turnbull, 19, is the latest in a long line of quality Well youngsters being produced, following in the bootsteps of the likes of Chris Cadden and Alan Campbell.

But Turnbull has Paul Mcarthur – his former school jannie at Calderbrid­ge Primary School – to thank for giving him a helping hand.

He said: “I was playing at a boys club when I was younger and my school janitor was into football and he put my name into the club.

“I went for a trial and two or three weeks in they wanted to sign me.

“I still see the janitor about and bump into him at the shops. He sends me the odd text and likes to see how I’m doing. He’s been a big part of it for me.

“Motherwell are a club who like to give kids a chance – look at Chris Cadden and Alan Campbell for example. So I knew if I kept playing well I would get a chance.

“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks because I’ve got into the Motherwell first team and scored a couple of goals then I’ve got the call for the Under-20s which was an added bonus. The plan was to try and force my way into the team at Motherwell.

“I knew I had to be patient. The team weren’t doing great and I felt if I kept training well, I would eventually get in – and that’s what happened.”

Turnbull was brought back to earth by a 7-1 hammering by Rangers last week but he insists he’s on track to meet his aims for this season.

And he can’t wait to get working again with boss Robinson for what will be a hectic December.

He said: “Rangers were tough for us because we had a couple of games on the bounce before that and we wanted to have a real go – but we had a man sent off and lost early goals in the second half.

“The manager has just told me to keep doing what I am doing to stay in the team but he may rest me if he thinks I am playing too much. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.

“For the season my ambitions are to try and get as many games as I can under my belt and just try and push on.

“Working with Scot Gemmill has been good – I worked with him a few years back at 15s and 16s.”

Turnbull added: “After my couple of goals, my phone was going mental. Tweets, Instagram messages, family texts, so I’ve tried to reply to them all.

“I’ve had a few Well fans recognise me in the street – it’s weird.

“I bumped into a few fans at the shops the other day, but it’s brilliant and it’s exactly what you want– people watching you and seeing what you do.”

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