Shaughan Mcguigan
The BBC TV presenter, podcaster and Scotland fan shares his Euro hopes
A Wee Blether With…
What’s your earliest football memory?
According to my mum, the moment she realised I was going to be football daft was when they showed Charlie Nicholas scoring an equaliser against Switzerland on TV in a friendly in 1983, and I started dancing in front of the telly and shouting his name. I still shout at the football now, but admittedly I do far less dancing.
Can you tell us honestly how far you think Scotland will get in the Euros this year?
I honestly think we could do quite well. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t get to the knock-out stages for the first time ever, and we might go even further.
Are you optimistic about their chances?
As I’m a complete geek, I’ve already plotted out who we could play depending on where we finish in our group, and we’d probably avoid the very best teams in the second round, so why not aim high? Also, by law of averages we need to get through eventually.
Who are the best players in the squad?
I think it’s impossible to look past the players in the middle of the park. John Mcginn, Scott Mctominay and Billy Gilmour are coming up against some of the best players in the world each Saturday in the English Premier League, but regularly end up being one of the best players on the park. At the back, Kieran Tierney is vital to how we prefer to play, but he’s very injury-prone.
Your favourite Scotland player of all time?
That’s quite a tough question. I know which player I’ve had the most joy watching, though, and that’s Colin
Cameron. He’s from Kirkcaldy and is the best player I’ve ever seen play for Raith Rovers. There’s always a sense of pride when someone local, who you admire, goes on to bigger and better things, but watching him play for Scotland was genuinely goosebump-inducing.
Tell us about A View From The Terrace…
So back in 2018, we were all involved with a podcast called The Terrace, covering Scottish football for around nine years. The BBC was getting ready to launch BBC Scotland, and was looking to feature a sports show. One of its commissioners, David Harron, listened to the podcast and approached us to see if we’d be interested in making a one-off pilot.
Did you have any TV experience?
No, none of us did! We genuinely had no expectations that we’d be asked to take it further but two weeks later we were contacted by the BBC offering us an initial 10-week series.
And it’s still going strong!
Yeah, we’ve made well over 100 episodes. A lot of work goes into making the show but let’s face it, sitting with your pals each week and talking about football is a dream job and the most fun I’ve ever had.
And finally, are you heading over to Germany for the tournament?
I’ve pretty much waited my entire life for this, so there was no way I was going to miss it. I only have two weeks off my work, but haven’t actually booked a flight home yet – so if Scotland do reach the latter stages, I might be trying to wangle extra holidays with my boss while trying to find another hotel I can afford. Or failing that, a tent!