Martin aims to be a hero again and give his dad a birthday gift

SON of an exile from Easterhouse, raised amid a patriotic fervour that only expat families seem to achieve, Chris Martin wears the dark blue of Scotland with undiluted pride. Glasgow-born dad Gerry wouldn’t have it any other way.

When Martin senior celebrates his 60th birthday at Hampden on Saturday, it is pretty damned obvious he will want just one special present to mark the occasion. Namely, a repeat of his boy’s last outing at the national stadium, when Chris bagged the late winner in a vital World Cup qualifier with Slovenia. Doing the same to England would certainly beat a ‘Made in 1957’ T-shirt.

‘Yeah, a last-minute winner wouldn’t be bad this time,’ grinned 28-year-old Martin, the Suffolk-born Derby County striker. ‘My dad actually mentioned it. It’s his birthday on Saturday, so I’ll be buzzing if I can play any kind of part and recreate what happened last time.

‘My dad moved to England when he was maybe 20 or 21 but he’s from Glasgow — and he’s the reason I’m here. He’s been a big part in the Scottish bandwagon and the family are all up here. Hopefully, I can score the winner for them.’

Martin represented England at Under-19 level, making his father ‘proud and annoyed at the same time’.

‘My dad was always strong on our Scottish heritage, so I never had the choice,’ said Martin when asked about the temptation to cheer for England. ‘You don’t mess with your dad. We’ve never been allowed to forget where we’re from. Sometimes people who live away from home are the most passionate.

‘When I scored against Slovenia, it wasn’t about me. It was about the result for the country. But obviously he was delighted, as were the rest of my family. There were about 15 at Hampden last time and there will be a fair few this time.’

At the end of what Martin calls a ‘tumultuous’ year on and off the park, he is just pleased to be concentrating on football.

On a year-long loan to Fulham last season, he missed three games over the festive period amid reports he had gone on strike and demanded to return to his parent club.

He is reluctant to revive the row but said: ‘If I told people what happened, they wouldn’t believe me. It’s been tumultuous. Football can be a rollercoaster at times but usually not all in the one season. Hopefully, I can top it off with a real high against England.’ Reporting for international duty almost provided a release. His goal against Slovenia in March, despite emerging from the bench to boos from a large number of Scotland fans, was a case in point.

‘I am still on a high from it now,’ he said. ‘It was pretty special because it got us back on track. As much as we tried to play it down at the time, it was a vital win for us.

‘Hopefully, we can take the confidence from that game into Saturday.

‘I’ve not had too many Scotland fans saying sorry. They don’t need to apologise to me. They can voice their opinion all they like. I hope I can change their minds if they don’t have a high opinion in the first place.

‘My job is to get out on the pitch and get the winner. The manager has backed me from the start. I’ve been involved in just about every squad, so it was nice to repay some of that faith.

‘It was a big one for us and everyone was buzzing going back into the changing room. Everyone was congratulating me but it was a good performance from everyone.

‘Before I even got on the pitch I felt we should have been two or three up, so we got our just rewards for our performance on the night.’

As for whether Martin will be rewarded with a start in place of Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths, who began the Slovenia game, he is taking nothing for granted.

‘I’m not so sure about that,’ he said. ‘Griff had a decent performance and was unlucky not to score a couple of times.

‘There is competition for places in every position. It’s a long week of training for everyone to impress the gaffer.

‘We are quietly confident. It’s a game we’re going into to try to win. We produced a performance under pressure last time and, hopefully, we can take that into the game against England.

‘We know they are a fantastic squad. They have massive players who play for big clubs who win trophies. But there’s no reason we can’t cause them problems.’

Asked to imagine the emotion should history be thrust upon him in the role of match-winner, Martin said: ‘It doesn’t even bear thinking about. I just need to keep my head down and, hopefully, play a part.

‘Everyone will be hoping they are the one who can step up, score the winner or contribute in a big way.’