Football
Scotland players & coaches sing Tartan Army anthem during kid’s hospital visit
SCOTLAND players and coaches burst into song with patients at Glasgow’s Children’s Hospital.
Steve Clarke‘s squad took time out of their pre-Euro 2024 training camp to visit Glasgow Children’s Hospital in a bid to lift the spirits of sick kids and their families.
And they did just that, with the team and staff in fine voice when asked to sing a song by one youngster.
The broke into the chant of “Super John McGinn” – a fan’s favourite dedicated to the side’s talisman and much to the delight of the Aston Villa midfielder.
Skipper Andy Robertson reckons meeting kids fighting illness will give “extra motivation” to his squad as they prepare to open the Euros in less than two weeks’ time.
Robertson said: “Obviously, we’ve got a lot to be excited about, a lot to be grateful about and we’ve got a lot of motivation going over to Germany but today we will get even more. We see some amazing kids fighting battles that they shouldn’t be fighting.
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“If it gives us any extra motivation then that’s it but it’s more important to put smiles on their faces and everyone connected to them.
“It’s always nice to see if you can brighten up their day or help them through whatever they’re going through.
“A lot of us are dads with our own kids and we know how bad it is when they get unwell so I can’t imagine what these people are going through. Even if it helps one day or one hour to take their mind off whatever they’re going through, then we’ve done our job.”
Such hospital visits were not possible last time out as Scotland prepared for the delayed Euro 2020 finals in the midst of the pandemic – so this time round Robertson is eager to get as close to the fans as possible.
The Liverpool full-back added: “When we qualified for the last Euros the world was in a bad place in terms of Covid and life wasn’t normal,”
“It wasn’t possible to even think about trying to do these things.
“That’s why today was so important for us because we have the chance to spread good energy.
“We know these people will be supporting us, whether they’re still in hospital or back home recovering or whatever. We know these people are just as important as the Tartan Army that will be over in Germany.
“It’s important that the country’s together, we’re very good at that. We always have been and we felt that at the last Euros. But I think it can go up a notch this time.”
Scotland kick off the tournament against Germany on Friday, June 14 in Munich.
One star who will be sweating over his fitness is striker Lyndon Dykes who missed the hospital visit after being stretchered off in training that afternoon.
He will await news of a scan on a leg injury.
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