Gordon Smith first clapped eyes on Billy Gilmour as a nine-year-old running the show in an Old Firm kids’ clash a decade ago.
The midfielder might have been tiny but he was head and shoulders above every other player on the pitch and Smith, who was chief executive at Rangers at the time, knew he was witnessing a special talent.
Ten years on, Gilmour has moved to Chelsea, won a Champions League and is on the brink of playing for Scotland at the Euros.
And Smith is adamant that being only 19 should not be an impediment to his chances of starting against the Czech Republic on Monday.
He said: “If you are looking at getting your best players out there, Gilmour and Nathan Patterson have to be considered.
“He just has to have the belief that they have the quality to do their job, regardless of age and experience. Okay, Patterson has hardly had any games, but the ones he has played for Rangers he was outstanding.
“Certainly, if Scott McTominay was pulled back into defence, Gilmour would go in there. He is an outstanding player.
“I first saw him when he was about nine years old in a Rangers v Celtic youth game and he just ran the show. I remember saying to people, ‘who’s that?’
"He was brilliant to watch.
“When he went to Chelsea I wondered about the physical side of it and whether he would be big enough but he seems to cope with that now.”
Smith saved the SFA a few quid over the years after persuading Scotland’s players to turn out for their country for nothing unless they qualified for major tournaments.
But the former Hampden chief executive – he was three years at the SFA before his stint in the Ibrox role – reckons the current crop under Clarke might recoup some of that cash over the next month.
And he’ll be delighted if they do so.
Smith said: “I negotiated with the players an agreement that they wouldn’t get paid for playing Scotland but would be granted a bonus if they qualified for a major tournament.
“When Steve got appointed, I thought he was the right man. Two years ago, he took Kilmarnock to third in the league and qualifying for Europe. Two years later, they are relegated. There’s the difference.”
