Aidan Connolly insists his old Dundee United pal John Souttar deserves a life-changing transfer — as the Raith Rovers ace opened up on his own injury struggles.
Hearts star Souttar, 25, is out of contract at the end of the season and is reportedly attracting interest from Rangers, Celtic and a host of admirers south of the border.
A man of the match performance and memorable goal for Scotland against Denmark underlined his quality.
It was also a night of catharsis for a player who has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon on three occasions.
Connolly shared a flat with ‘Soapy’, Andrew Robertson and Ryan Gauld as kids at Tannadice and was moved to contact the whole Souttar family after the magical night at Hampden.
“I texted John, his mum and his dad after the Scotland game,” Connolly told Courier Sport.
“I just wanted to let them know how buzzing I was for him.
“Although I haven’t been through the same problems he has, I know the feeling of being injured and thinking maybe you’ll never get properly fit again.
“I’m sure there were moments when John thought he’d never get back to this level — but he fought through it.
“I really hope he stays in the Scotland team, gets a big move and kicks on again because he deserves it.”
Rubbish
Connolly has endured his own fitness battles during stints with United, York City and Dunfermline.
Indeed, niggling set-backs sabotaged his progress as recently as last season with Falkirk.
Now fighting fit and arguably in the form of his life, he is able to reflect on those challenges.
“People don’t realise some of the rubbish players go through,” said Connolly candidly. “You hear people saying ‘oh, he doesn’t want to be fit’ or ‘he’s not working hard enough’.
“That’s a kick in the teeth because it’s not like that.
“They don’t see the rehab; they don’t see the hours you put in to try to get back to full fitness.
“It’s nice that you have folk saying ‘Aidan’s doing well now’, and I know how hard I’ve grafted to get to this point.
“But I don’t want to just settle for how things are going right now. I want to keep scoring, assisting and working hard.”
‘People write you off’
With five goals and four assists from 22 outings, Connolly is swift to heap praise on John McGlynn, confessing that the Rovers boss took a chance on him when many others wouldn’t.
The waspish winger returns to the Falkirk Stadium on Scottish Cup duty this weekend a different player.
“After last season, a lot of teams weren’t interested,” continued Connolly. “That’s the reality of football. If you aren’t doing well, then people are quick to write you off.
“But the manager believed in me and I’m determined to repay him for that.”
As whether his journey could culminate in a return to top-flight football, Connolly added: “That’s an aim. I want to get as high as I can go.”
