It Disney bother me
SCOTLAND v ISLE OF MAN Lewis happy to take pelters if team take title
LEWIS MACKENZIE has spent his first week on Junior Scotland duty lugging around a kids’ backpack and dishing out sweeties to his team-mates.
But the Dundonald Bluebell midfielder admits the pelters he has taken off his international pals will all be worth it if they win the Quadrangular Tournament today.
The 22-year-old was singled out for the ritual ridiculing given he’s the youngest in a squad looking to reclaim the trophy with victory over the Isle of Man at Newlandsfield.
Mackenzie was handed the Disney Pixar Lightning McQueen bag, which has his last name scrawled across it, by coach Stewart Williamson two hours before Wednesday’s opener.
And he’s not been allowed to let it out of his sight since as the Scots head into the crunch final day.
He said: “Every year the youngest player has to wear a wee boy’s bag and it’s full of sweets, so any time the boys want a sweet they have to say, ‘Lewis give us a sweet’ and me, ‘Help yourself’. As soon as the tournament is over I’ll be taking it home and framing it with my cap!
“I was trying to hide when he pulled out this bag and asked, ‘Who’s the youngest?’. Every day I’ve got pelters off the lads, saying you’ve just got to take it since you’re the youngest.
“The most important thing is to win – the game, the tournament and bring the trophy back home. That would make it all worth it. A few of my pals are coming through but I’ll make sure they don’t see the bag!”
Ross Brash’s last-minute volley sealed a 1-0 win over defending champions Republic of Ireland on Thursday to leave the Scots level with Northern Ireland on four points but having scored three goals fewer.
And boss Keith Burgess, who played with Gordon Strachan for the Edinburgh District team aged 11, was relieved to see the net bulge.
He said: “The players were having a pop at me, saying, ‘Gaffer you better win because imagine sacking two Scotland managers on the same day’.
“If we can win it will be even more euphoric in the dressing room. The players are up for it.”