No flight of fancy

Chief football writer

Thursday 24 May 2012

A GENTLE request to the Scottish Football Association staff currently putting Barry Robson through his latest coaching course: don't be too hard on him if he seems to be daydreaming or not paying attention during lessons.

Barry Robson has no intention of retiring from Scotland duty

Custom byline text:

Michael Grant

A smattering of well-kent faces – Duncan Ferguson, Paul Hartley and Jonatan Johansson among them – are on SFA coaching duty at Largs this week, but only one of the group is liable to find his thoughts straying 4400 miles away.

Robson is learning the mechanics of taking a training session when he really ought to be brushing up on his geography of Canada, Vancouver in particular. He has never been there but it is about to become his home. In an admirable, even imaginative, move, Robson has left Middlesbrough to sign for Vancouver Whitecaps. It wasn't a decision forced upon the 33-year-old because he still has plenty left to give: he finished the season as Middlesbrough player of the year.The easy option would have been to eke out another year or two in the npower Championship and keep himself relatively local for Craig Levein's Scotland set-up ahead of a World Cup qualifying campaign. Instead, he will take the Robsons across the world. When asked why, he bubbled with almost boyish enthusiasm: "A new lifestyle, a new challenge, everything. I'm looking forward to experiencing a new culture. I'm going to become a manager and a coach and going to a different culture will help. "The biggest thing is what this will mean for my children. If you get the opportunity to do that then why wouldn't you take it? I've not been out there yet. My wife has been out with my eldest daughter and she's happy. If they're happy, I'm happy. It's a leap into the dark in a sense but I've looked at photos and spoken to people, and my wife said it was a different planet. If you ask anyone who's been there they will say it's the right thing to do. If my wife had said she didn't fancy it I wouldn't be going. My wife and kids have travelled with me throughout my career and this is something really big for my wife. She wanted it and it was time to listen to her and not just be 'me, me, me'. I think sometimes family life is more important than anything else and I have to look after them."Robson will be 34 before the end of the year and moving across the planet wouldn't seem like a decision destined to prolong his Scotland career. But Levein's admiration for the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United and Celtic midfielder could barely be higher. The Scotland manager is on record as saying Robson will continue to be considered and selected for his country if his form and fitness merit more caps. "Craig Levein is brilliant with me. He's the type of manager who looks after his players. I spoke to him to ask his opinion on going to Vancouver and I've spoken to him about a few other things; he's someone whose opinion I respect. Let's see where this takes me. If my country ever needs me it doesn't matter where I am in the world, I will be on that plane and back as soon as I get the call."When a comparison was made with David Beckham extending his England career as an LA Galaxy player, Robson chuckled: "There's only about the £200m difference between the pair of us". One similarity is that they are each a "designated player". Vancouver Whitecaps are one of three Canadian teams in America's Major League Soccer and so they, like LA Galaxy, can have three "DPs" on higher wages while the rest of the squad operates under a salary cap. "They've invested in me and I need to pay them back. It's going to be a big bit of pressure when I get there."I feel I have a lot to offer. I've just played in the Championship and got a player-of-the-year award. It's one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world so I must be doing something right. Young players are coming through and I don't want to stop that – Craig Levein won't let that happen – but myself, Kenny Miller and all the other old boys will still be wanting to play. Although I keep telling Gary Caldwell that if we had any decent centre-halves he wouldn't be getting a game . . ."Robson's coach in Vancouver will be Martin Rennie, the 36-year-old Thurso-born manager. Robson intends to go into coaching and management, perhaps in Canada, America, or back in Scotland. It impressed him that Levein and Hartley began their managerial careers at Cowdenbeath and Alloa Athletic respectively. "Nothing is below me. I will take what I can get and I will be happy to prove myself. Coming to Largs is like being on my first day of pre-season at Rangers as a 15-year-old. I've had a million coaching sessions in my career but you get told you are in charge of training and you start wondering if you've put the bibs out wrong . . ."At least he has a better excuse for any lapses than the other "pupils". The next few weeks will bring one of the great upheavals of his life.* Robson was speaking at the Scottish FA's A licence coaching course at the sportscotland National Centre in Inverclyde. The SFA provides coach education to thousands of coaches at all levels of the game every year.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

No flight of fancy

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED