Angus ace Alan Soutar has been given a video rally call from Arbroath boss Dick Campbell after his PDC World Darts Championship exploits.
Soots has made a stunning impact in his debut year at the Alexandra Palace event.
He has seen off Brazilian Diogo Portela, world number 27 Mensur Suljovic and world number 5 Jose de Souza so far.
Those final two victories have come in dramatic style for the Dundee firefighter with 144 and 136 checkouts.
They have helped Soots become a household name with Scotland skipper Andy Robertson tweeting his congratulations after the win over de Souza.
But the inspirational message from Campbell tops the lot for Arbroath-daft Soots as he prepares to face Englishman Callan Rydz in the last 16 on Thursday.
Soots tweeted ‘Does it get any better than this?’ as he shared the video with his 9.2k Twitter followers.
In a video message initially sent to Soutar via WhatsApp, Campbell asked: “How inspirational are these performances?
Does it get any better than this…….
We are the AF the AFC…..🇱🇻🇱🇻💙 Thanks Gaffer @ArbroathFC #togetherness pic.twitter.com/PeGsNXfUdR— Alan Soutar (@soots180) December 29, 2021
“I think I could put you in my first team.
“You’ve beaten three seeded players (SIC) and you are amongst the elite.
“Do you know why, son? You are there because you deserve it.
“I was off my seat. I’m just coming back from Covid here and if anyone needs a lift you get it watching you.
𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘! 🧑🚒
Alan Soutar eliminates Jose de Sousa in a thrilling deciding set to secure his spot in the fourth round!
An incredible win for Soots 🤩#WHDarts pic.twitter.com/OGnTGjucpl
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2021
“Me and every one of my staff will be watching you on Thursday. Everybody in Arbroath will be watching you.
“We are so proud of you, so come on. I’ll be the first to give you a wee drink when you come back.
“You get into them, son. All the best!”
Alan Soutar: Arbroath’s new local hero
Campbell’s video has already been viewed almost 60k times.
It comes after Arbroath hung his shirt up in the Gayfield dressing room alongside his Red Lichties heroes Michael McKenna, Colin Hamilton, Luke Donnelly and Tam O’Brien.
But he isn’t the only person in Soutar’s hometown to wish him well.
Sponsor Graeme Gersok from The Townhouse has made trips to London three times along with Soutar’s brother Garry to watch him.
Several other friends and family are expected to be at Ally Pally for the Rydz clash at 2.15pm on Thursday.
Feeling the love from @ArbroathFC 😍🇱🇻 #togetherness @ewansmithpr @Big5SportsMana1 pic.twitter.com/IClCJY5gA2
— Alan Soutar (@soots180) December 22, 2021
And back in Arbroath, people have been watching their new local hero.
“All the stuff that’s happening in my hometown is incredible,” said Soutar. “A lot of players and staff from Arbroath are sending me messages.
“They are wishing me good luck and asking me to ‘keep it going.’ They are encouraging the Arbroath spirit and a bit of Scottish fight.”
