Dunfermline Press | Sport | Kenny brings Pars kid back down to earth

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 4th October, 2007 08:00

Kenny brings Pars kid back down to earth

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WATCH THE BRIDIE: Scott McBride in action against Ayr on Tuesday

HOURS after Scott McBride made his senior debut in front of his proud family and more than 10,000 at Tynecastle, Pars gaffer Stephen Kenny ensured the under-19 starlet came back down to earth.

“The next day he told me I had to get my head out of the clouds and my feet back on the ground,” smiled the fresh-faced teenager this week.

Having just turned 18, the young Fifer’s inclusion in Kenny’s starting line-up for last Tuesday’s CIS Insurance Cup third-round tie at Tynecastle was as much a shock for the player as it was for anyone else.

Up against the experienced Robbie Neilson, the youngster acquitted himself well, showing glimpses of the pace, strength and a sweet left foot that persuaded Kenny to throw the kid in at the deep end.

McBride was named in the Pars’ cup squad after scoring twice in the under-19s’ 4-2 win at Alloa on the Sunday before but didn’t expect to start.

“He only told me I’d be starting about 45 minutes or an hour before the game,” ‘Bridie’ – as he’s known to his team mates – told Press Sport.

“I was expecting, at the most, a place on the bench and I was extremely happy about that. When he told me I was on from the start I was shocked but I was pleased – and a bit nervous!

“Looking back on it now, it did go by in a bit of a flash but I enjoyed it,” he said. “I got told to do my best and to get the ball and take it down the line and I thought I did that.”

There’s no chance McBride would do anything other than take Kenny’s words to heart as the modest teenager has already impressed everyone at East End with his attitude after fighting his way back from a fractured cheekbone at the end of last season.

“I worked really hard when I couldn’t do anything else and I worked on my own during pre-season on wee bits and pieces I thought I could improve on.”

McBride, who is from Glenrothes, has been on the Pars books since the under-15s and now in the second year at under-19 level, is hoping to do enough to earn a fresh contract at the end of the season.

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