LUKE Leahy was back last week where it all got started.

Afforded some downtime before the build-up begins in earnest for the Scottish Cup final later this month, the Falkirk left back checked in at the Strachan Football Foundation, the East Midlands-based soccer school which set him on an alternative career path on the very day he was starting a job at Toys 'r' Us.

And who should be there but the man whose name is above the door? As chance would have it, Gordon Strachan was making one of his periodic visits to the business of which he is a director and the Scotland manager chipped in with a few words of wisdom to help him prepare for the biggest match of his life.

"I went down there last Friday on my day off and Gordon was there so I spoke to him for a bit," said Leahy. "He is there when he can but luckily he was there on Friday and so was I. When I saw him he was just chatting away about what I could expect, and telling me to enjoy it because they don't come around very often. He also rang me after the semi-final, said well done and congratulated me."

Leahy is the poster boy for the Strachan Foundation, the first graduate of the academy, based in Rugby, near Coventry, to hold his own in senior football. Set up in conjunction with his sons Gavin and Craig as a means to offer an introduction to full-time training and education to kids aged 16-19 who may have been released from Premiership academies, Gordon restated his commitment to the project when Gavin left to join Peterborough United as a youth coach. Fronted up now by Dan Elliott, guest coaches such as Gary Breen, Eddie Newton and current Aston Villa No 2 Kevin McDonald all pop in from time to time, all calling the Scotland boss 'gaffer'.

And in case you were wondering why the manager of Scotland should be so invested in developing English players, it is worth noting that - ever since the 22-year-old first followed Elliott from Nuneaton Borough Under-16s - there have been jokes around these parts about Leahy one day going on to play for Scotland. His grandfather Duncan was born in Dunfermline, of all places, but he can scarcely have expected his mentor to suddenly be in a position to make it all happen.

"I would be open to the Scotland thing," said Leahy. "I used to come up to Scotland with my grandad every summer until I was about 10 or 11. They are massive Dunfermline fans, which is a bit funny considering I ended up a Falkirk player. I actually had my debut at Dunfermline which was a bit weird but I feel as Scottish as I am English. The people at the foundation have had a joke about me playing for Scotland for years, but Gordon hasn't yet!"

Before we go any further, it is worth stating right now that Duncan isn't the only grandparent of Leahy's who is worth talking about. His late grandfather Mick, who emigrated to Britain from Cork, was an illustrious boxer who was acquainted with Muhammad Ali and even managed to defeat Sugar Ray Robinson, the man frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, in a bout in Paisley. Mick was too ravaged by Alzheimers for his grandson to know him well, but it says it all that he was once able to call upon Ali when he needed a celebrity to open a chip shop in Coventry.

"He never fought Ali, he just knew him well," said the Falkirk player. "It was a great achievement to beat Sugar Ray but I've never done any boxing - I'm too pretty!"

It is on the football pitch where Leahy is threatening to become a knockout success. Originally signed by another Strachan old boy in Steven Pressley, Leahy arrived in Falkirk as a striker, left winger or No 10, but is turning heads since being given a run at left back by Peter Houston. He finished the regular season in outstanding form, with championship clubs thought to be circling as he goes into the final year of his current deal. The Bairns travel down south to continue their cup preparations, taking on the development sides of Burnley and Swansea, and it will be instructive to see how he measures up.

"I don't think we are favourites," said Leahy about the biggest game of his life. "Inverness are obviously doing very well in the Premier League. They are third and have just secured Europe. But we weren't favourites against Hibs either and we somehow managed to win that.

"No disrespect to Hibs, but I felt it was an easy game in terms of getting it down and passing it," he added. "It was a massive park and you didn't really have people closing you down straight away, so you could get your head up and play, while some games at the Falkirk Stadium against Cowdenbeath or whatever it is a battle. Oh God, the semi final was the biggest game and biggest day of my life and I am sure the final will be even bigger. I've never won anything, apart from silly cups with my mates.

"I am here for another year, but I am just enjoying my football at the minute, there is nothing better than that. But any player wants to play at as high a level as they can."

Elliott, who was up north recently for preliminary discussions with Spartans about expanding the scheme north of the border, is thrilled to see his former player making such giant strides. The Scotland manager has sourced a couple of tickets to see Leahy play in the Scottish Cup final and only last week the foundation won the natural college championships, clad in Scotland colours.

"Willie the kit man sends us a kit down each year and we put a Strachan badge on it," he said. "We have the red socks with Alba written on them. We come across a load of Scottish coaches in the national college championships. One of them was at Kidderminster. He was saying: 'this is wrong, you have done me psychologically already!"

ends