Steve Clarke says he won't spend any time on the World Cup touchline thinking about how far he has come in his storied career so far.
But when the tournament ends, the Scotland boss admits he probably will reflect that "I’ve done alright for a wee boy from Saltcoats".
And rightfully so.
The 62-year-old has achieved something which a generation of Scots could never have imagined only seven years ago.
When Clarke first took the reins in May 2019, it followed a disastrous second spell at the helm for Alex McLeish - perhaps best summarised by a 3-0 loss at the hands of Kazakhstan only a few months earlier.
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Since then, Clarke has taken charge of 76 games, more than any other Scotland manager in history.
And in the early hours of Sunday, June 14, he will lead the team at their first World Cup finals match for 28 years.
After Euro 2020 and 2024, it will be Clarke's third major tournament in the dugout, a feat no other national team boss has achieved.
With a CV many could only dream of, he could be forgiven for forgetting where it all began.
But, put simply, he does not.
“You always remember where you came from," he told The Herald's sister title The Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, as he took time out of hectic tournament preparation to speak exclusively to his local paper.
"Getting brought up in Saltcoats, it was a long time ago now, but I still remember it well. I have good memories of the place.”
From a proud footballing family, Clarke's dad, Edward, saw his chances of a professional career curtailed due to injury.
But that didn't halt a strong amateur stint as he played for local side Star of the Sea - twice Ayrshire Cup winners and twice Ayrshire League champions.
His older brother, Paul, enjoyed a stellar career with Kilmarnock, which included a loan stint at Ardrossan Winton Rovers, while younger sibling, Michael, played for a number of local junior sides before he, too, suffered injury heartbreak.
His uncle Jimmy also enjoyed spells with Morton and Cambridge United, having previously been on the books at Celtic before suffering a broken leg.
“As a young boy growing up in the 60s and 70s, you didn’t have so many options as to what you could do with your spare time," Clarke said.
“My dad was a good amateur player, my brothers played, my uncle played – we were a footballing family.
“Any spare time we got was down at Auchenharvie kicking a ball around. If we couldn’t get down Auchenharvie, we went to Jacks Road. We were always out playing football.
“I don’t really remember much else about my childhood, except that I played football whenever I could.”
As hard as it may be to believe now, making a living from the sport wasn't always his be-all and end-all.
“I don’t think you ever set out thinking ‘right, I’ll have a career in football’," Clarke added. "My dad made me do my apprenticeship just up the road. At the time it was called Beecham’s.
“I did my apprenticeship there as an instrument technician. My dad wouldn’t let me go full-time [in football]."
At 15, while training with Beith Juniors - where he was taken by his uncle Jimmy - Clarke was famously picked up by St Mirren when the Paisley side turned up a week early for a friendly match at Bellsdale Park.
The teen was thrust into the starting line-up for the earlier-than-anticipated match, and played again in the scheduled fixture, impressing enough to earn an S-form contract at Love Street.
He went on to sign a provisional form with the Buddies, spending a season back on loan at Bellsdale before earning his first professional contract as a part-time player.
“When I finished my apprenticeship, I said to my dad I wanted to go full-time at St Mirren," Clarke continued. "He reluctantly agreed, but said I had to continue my studies.
“I continued with the Open University. It lasted about six months and I just binned that. From there, my football career is quite well documented. It went well for me.”
But the story is not one which the national team manager tells to talk himself up. He shares it to show what is possible.
He hopes that, similarly, the Scotland team can inspire another generation in their own right as they run out on the biggest stage of them all.
He said: “For a lot of people, it will be the first time they have seen their country at a World Cup. That’s great. It should stimulate interest amongst the youngsters.
“What we have done, as a squad, over the last seven years is we have rekindled an interest in the national team by qualifying for three major tournaments.
“The World Cup, being the showcase tournament that it is, probably attracts even more people into it.
“If we can stimulate that interest among the young boys and girls, we can inspire the next generation of footballers.
“We don’t want it to be 28 years before we go to the next one. That’s far too long. Hopefully, we can do that.”
Some members of Clarke's family will be making the trip across the Atlantic for the tournament, with his brother Michael heading stateside with his family.
And the manager's own family, including his three children and five grandchildren, are also making the journey.
"It’s nice," he said. "Expensive, but nice.”
He hopes that fans can also enjoy the experience, having waited almost three decades for the pleasure.
“Just enjoy it," is Clarke's advice to Scotland's travelling supporters.
"We went to Germany [for Euro 2024] and the tournament didn’t go the way we wanted - because we felt we were good enough to get out that group.
“It didn’t work out for us. But the biggest feedback I have had from that tournament is the number of people that have come up to me and said, ‘that was brilliant, we loved it, we had a great time’.
“Go to America, have a great time, support the team as you always do, and hopefully this time we can make the next step.”
On a personal level, Clarke won't be leaving too much room for sentimentality - not yet anyway.
“I’ll just be focused on the game," he said. "That’s the way I’ve always worked.
"That’s my job, to concentrate on the task at hand.
“Maybe, after the tournament is finished and I get home and get my feet up for a couple of days, I’ll think back to the days down Auchenharvie kicking a ball around with my family.
“I’ll think I’ve actually come a long way. I’ve done alright for a wee boy from Saltcoats.”
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