Scottish Sheffield United stars’ success is no surprise to Bollan.
They used to toil in front of barely 1000 fans at Livingston now they’re aiming for Wembley via White Hart Lane.
And the man who handed Sheffield United’s star Scots Stefan Scougall and Mark McNulty their start in senior football reckons the pair STILL haven’t peaked.
Gary Bollan plucked both Scougall and McNulty from the Livi youth ranks aged 17 and pitched them into first team action at Almondvale.
Both shone as Bollan’s side won back-to-back promotions from the bottom tier of the old SFL into the First Division and both were rewarded in 2014 with moves to Sheffield United.
Now in charge at Airdrie, Bollan has kept tabs on his former stars, who face a League Cup semi-final first leg clash with Tottenham Hostpur on Wednesday.
And the Diamonds gaffer expects both to emerge having further bolstered their growing reputations no matter the result.
Bollan, December’s League One Manager of the Month, said: “I gave Stefan and Marc their debuts at Livingston and I’m not surprised to see them doing so well down in England.
“I put them in the Livi team and I am proud of them, so I keep a close eye on what they’re doing.
“They were on the TV recently and thanked me for giving them their debut, which was really pleasing. The pair of them have worked hard to get where they are and they can keep improving.
“Against Spurs this week they’ll be given a platform to show everyone what they’re about and it won’t faze them one bit.
“It’s amazing to think that they’ve gone from playing at Almondvale in front of 1200 people to then being with Sheffield United going to White Hart Lane in front of 35,000 fans.
“They deserve that opportunity because they’ve both worked very hard and, who knows, they might do well enough to get another move up out of it.”
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