FOOTBALLERS in pubs: either they're young and in them more than their managers would like, or they're retired and running them as a means to earn a living.
Gary Mackay-Steven's story is different. When you become a Celtic player, as he just has, there are certain pubs where you never have to put your hand in your pocket for the rest of your days. That represents quite a turnaround for Mackay-Steven, given that he once had to take time out of football and made some money working behind a bar.
When he joined Celtic this week it meant Mackay-Steven had signed for two of Britain's biggest clubs by the age of 24. He must hope and expect that his Celtic experience will be far more rewarding than what happened to him at Liverpool. Born and raised in the Highlands, and a Ross County youth player, he was picked up by Liverpool as a 16-year-old only to suffer an unusual stress fracture of his hip. He tried periods of rest while receiving physiotherapy, but every time he was out on a training pitch the pain and discomfort returned. Eventually Liverpool reluctantly decided to release him on the basis that he needed an extended break from football for the problem to clear. So he returned home, to Thurso, and began working in The Newmarket Bar.
The most significant aspect of the story is not that Mackay-Steven's Liverpool hopes turned sour - released footballers are ten-a-penny - but that he showed such calm self-belief about returning to football once he had recovered. He was never in doubt that he would find another club when he was fit.
"I was working in a bar, down at my local in Thurso doing a little bit of work in there. I enjoyed it, it was nice and I appreciate a lot of things now. Working in the bar was funny because as the hours tick on people get drunker and drunker. They then start to say what they think. There were definitely murmurs of 'what are you doing back here?' People would say 'you could be doing this or that, what are you playing at?' But all that went in one ear and out the other. I always knew my vision and what I wanted to do. I was just waiting to feel good in myself again. Once I did I knew I'd work towards my dream again. I'm still close to a lot of people in Thurso, I have a lot of friends back there. My family are still there and I like to go home when I can. It doesn't happen very often because it's a camel trek from here."
After Liverpool, and the pub, Mackay-Steven returned to football with Airdrie. He is a slight, youthful-looking guy which does not hint at the mental strength he displayed to salvage a professional career. "I quietly had a burning desire to climb the ladder. I'm quite laid back and feel mentally strong having gone through what I've gone through. I don't think there's ever been a time where I thought I couldn't make it to the top. Football can change and you can get injuries and stuff that's out of your capabilities can change your course but, obviously, I worked my way back up, took a different path and now I'm at another massive club and I'm delighted and can't wait to get started."
Mackay-Steven had the help of a highly-supportive family and an agent, David Threlfall, who was there from the early days. Jimmy Boyle, the manager who signed him for Airdrie, was a big influence too. The talent and the dedication were down to Mackay-Steven himself, of course. When he was up in Thurso, without a club or his fitness, he would head to a local park with nothing but a ball. "It's funny, I still do that to this day if I have a day off, go to the park myself with a ball and practice. I feel a bit stupid, Stuart Armstrong is doing a law degree on his time off and I'm doing keepy-uppies! But I don't think I'll ever stop that. I like dribbling and I think I'll always have a ball at my feet no matter what. Over the years I've grown comfortable with the ball and I enjoy time with it. I've always had that passion. Even if it was raining my mum - probably to get me out of her hair when she was cooking the dinner - would tell me to go out with a ball. But I love it.
"Hopefully people enjoy it because football is about entertaining people, doing something different and getting bums off seats. That's all I try and do. End product is the most important thing, as managers always say, so maybe in the first few weeks here I'll give the tricks a miss..."
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