Lawrence Shankland will play Scotland long game but my Bootgate nightmare was worst start possible – Ryan Stevenson

IT was 11.30pm and I was lying in bed when the phone rang. My country was calling - a late shout from Scotland boss Craig Levein to get my boots and report for duty to face Cyprus.

I packed a bag and headed straight to the team hotel at Mar Hall. That was in 2011 and it was an easy decision to make, even back then when we were rubbish. Every player and their dog would want to be involved with the national side, especially during Steve Clarke ’s time in charge.

You don’t see anyone pulling a convenient hamstring under this regime, which maybe was the case in days gone by. When I received that call, it was like an instant adrenaline hit - it was the one time only. All I was concerned about was trying to get my boots, I was in Troon and my boots were in Edinburgh and it was approaching midnight and we were flying out to Cyprus that morning.

The panic was on. I needed to make sure I got to camp and my boots also came with me. Gordon ‘Goggsy’ Paterson was the legendary kitman at Hearts and he phoned to say he’d been asked to head to the training ground to get my boots, he packed them up and sent them to Mar Hall in a taxi.

Then my absolute nightmare began. All of the other boys in the squad had their boots inside a hamper in the plane’s haul but I carried mine as hand luggage.

I was so nervous when we landed in Cyprus that I reached the airport terminal and realised I’d left my boots inside the overhead luggage. The plane was at the other end of the airport and someone was sent to retrieve them while we made our way to the team coach and I could see the gaffer sitting down the front and he was raging.

What a start to my international career. I still remember pulling the skipper Darren Fletcher aside and saying, ‘you