Mason swapped the Blue Toon for AK-47S – and is now loving it
Former Aberdeen and Rangers full-back, David Robertson, won three Scotland caps.
That’s probably three more than his son, Mason, will ever achieve.
But the 24-year-old and his dad are currently going where few Scots have ever tread in an effort to further their careers. India, where Robertson Senior is manager of Real Kashmir, and managed to convince his offspring to swop Peterhead for the adventure of a lifetime.
His old man had just led Kashmir to the I-league Second Division title to win promotion.
The club was only formed in 2016 to help bring together a community devastated by flooding.
As Mason was preparing for this season at Balmoor Stadium, he was offered fulltime football in the top league of one of the world’s mostdensely populated countries. He took the plunge, but instantly regretted swapping the relatively gentile streets of the Blue Toon for the simmering, tension-filled alleyways of Srinagar. Indeed, he reckoned he’d made the his life!
But fast forward five months, and Mason believes it was the best decision he’s taken in his career.
He recalled: “I stepped off the plane and I just thought, ‘Oh no, what have I done?’ “Every second guy seemed to have an AK-47, and I was in total shock being driven into town. “But ever since then, when I started to actually meet the people, it’s been brilliant. “Peterhead manager
Jim Mcinally was great whenitoldhimofthe Indian offer.
“Part-time football wasn’t doing me any good with my fitness.
“I couldn’t go to a higher level because of my size. I was only training once a week and I wasn’t as fit as I would have liked.
“So I decided to give it a go in India, go full-time, get myself fit, and lose weight.
“I reckoned that if it didn’t workout,icouldcomeback to Scotland or go back to
biggest mistake of America, where I combined playing in Phoenix with my studies.
“But so brilliant.”
Losing weight shouldn’t prove too difficult, given that Srinagar doesn’t exactly offer much opportunity to go off the leash. There are no pubs, and no cinemas – just tanks on the streets, stray dogs and endless roadblocks set up by the various security forces as Kashmir, between India and Pakistan, is one of the world’s most-disputed hotspots. However, Robertson believes the lack of any kind of social life is actually a good thing, and he explained why he found it important to move out of his dad’s hotel and in with his team-mates. He said: “All there is to do in Srinagar is eat, sleep and play FIFA 19. “No one drinks here,
far
it’s
been and it’s not like we can go out nightclubbing every Saturday.
“If we were in Goa, it would be different because of the beach culture down there.
“But this has actually been good for me. It helped me blend in with the boys and create a team spirit, which is really important.
“I was staying with my dad at the owner’s house, and I just felt it was horrible that I was heading home with him after training instead of going back to the team hotel with the rest oftheboys.
“We have a lot of different nationalities. My room-mate is a Zambian internationalist. Robertson was courted by Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Queen of the South and joined Killie for pre-season, but each time concerns about his size and fitness thwarted the move.
However, he’s shifted the weight and reckons he’s the sharpest he’s been throughout his career.
He explained: “I did preseason training at Kilmarnock, but I was overweight compared to now. I’ve lost nearly two stones.
“I feel sharper than ever, which proves everyone has to take a step back in their career to move a step up.”
Even if it’s 4000 miles away.