Why I love Scottish football

The legendary goal-getter recounts his strangest tales, featuring Graeme Souness punch-ups, broken sofas, Duncan Ferguson's errant pigeon and, of course, Gazza...

- Ally McCoist

No one knows football north of the border better than Ally McCoist. In a playing career spanning 23 years, the talismanic striker scored more than 400 goals for club and country, won 20 major honours and became one of the finest footballers Scotland has produced.

Since retiring in 2001, the 62-year-old has remained as close to the game as ever, as a coach, manager, radio host, pundit and co-commentator - in total, he's amassed more than four decades' worth of experiences and anecdotes, which he's rarely shy in sharing.

Dear Scotland is his first book - though not an actual autobiography, it does celebrate some of his best memories and stories from his time in the game. It's quite the ride.

"I'm now at a stage where I'm really enjoying my life, there's plenty going on and I think the time for a full-blooded autobiography will be later – I’d be fairly confident I could do one,” he tells FFT. “At this moment, I felt there was room for a different kind of book, more lighthearted. It won’t be in the same section as Tolstoy – maybe the next one will!”

McCoist’s book tells the story of his relationship with Scottish football, and he’s ready to reveal to FFT why he has such affection for the beautiful game, in his own inimitable way, of course…

01 SCOTLAND HAVE THE PARTY BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT, NOT AFTER IT

For the 12th time in 12 major tournaments, Scotland went to Euro 2024 this summer and didn’t make it out of the group stage.

McCoist has experienced heartbreak after heartbreak – as a teenage fan, he’d headed to Hampden Park to wave off the team before they jetted to Argentina for the 1978 World Cup.