Dundee United youngster Scott Allan has revealed his dad swapped his search for a sofa for a seat at Tynecastle to witness his SPL debut against Hearts on Sunday.
The 19-year-old midfielder was only told by boss Peter Houston 90 minutes before kick-off that he was to start in Edinburgh.
Allan sent his dad a quick text to let him know a message that brought a swift end to a shopping expedition and sparked a mad dash across the country to see his son in action.
“Making my debut was obviously a big moment for me and to pick up all three points at Tynecastle was just brilliant,” said the player.
“I thought I could handle it if I was thrown in and I was just glad to pay the manager back for giving me the chance.
“He only told me at half-past-one that I was going to be playing, which was possibly a good thing as I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.
“If he had told me the night before, I would have been worrying, playing things through in my head, so it was probably better that I was thrown in at the deep end, so to speak.
“But because I did not know I was playing until late on I only had my dad Russell at the game. He had been out with my mum looking for a new couch for the living room when I texted him to say I was playing.
“So he dropped everything and rushed away to come through from Glasgow to watch the game.”
Allan admitted being selected was even more pleasing after a year battling back from illness and injury.”Great to be playing””It was just great to be playing against Hearts after what has not been a good time for me personally,” he said. “I had glandular fever last July and I had to stay in hospital for a couple of days.
“Then I broke my leg in training last season at the start of November in a freak accident when Andis Shala tackled me.
“It was really frustrating because I had just done quite well before that while on loan at Forfar.”
Allan admitted that while he was pleased with his performance, he is still far from being the finished article as a player.
However, with the help and advice of some of the senior pros at United, he hopes to continue to progress.
“I know I still have a lot to do on certain aspects of my game such as working hard when we do not have the ball, tracking back and things,” he said. “But I was confident in myself and I felt I adjusted to a pace I had not played at before at Tynecastle.
“Willo Flood, John Rankin and Scott Severin were chatting away to me throughout the game, keeping me right. They are always helping me, passing on tips about playing in my position.
“Before kick-off they just told me to play my own game and I would be fine and that’s what I tried to do.
“I hope I can build on this and maybe get a run in the team by being consistent.
“I used to look at guys like David Goodwillie and Johnny Russell who had come through our youth system getting their chance and they were an inspiration to me.”