Cowdenbeath boss Jimmy Nicholl will meet one of his first loves today.
The Blue Brazil face Linfield, with the 58-year-old remaining delighted that he turned down their advances more than 40 years ago.
The Belfast club had spotted Nicholl’s potential as a raw teenager and their manager at the time, Jimmy Hill, asked Nicholl to sign for them .
However, he did not want to do so without his dad being present.
Within a week Manchester United scout Bob Bishop turned up at Nicholl’s house to see if he fancied moving across the Irish Sea.
Nicholl said: “The first thing Bob said to me was that he knew Linfield were interested and had I signed a pink form with them.”
“I said I was asked to but I said no and he said,‘Good lad we can get you to Manchester then’.”
Nicholl went on to spend over a decade at Old Trafford before his spells in Toronto and Sunderland as well as a Rangers, Dunfermline and Raith Rovers.
He maintains a soft spot for Linfield as he explained: “They are a club that mean a lot to me despite never having played for them.
“However, I cannot complain too much as I had a decent career. My only disappointment about this game is that it is not being played at Windsor Park as it is being redeveloped and it is being played atClandeboye Park, Bangor.
The Fifers will use a different strike force to the one that featured in last Saturday’s 4-1 win over Blyth Spartans.
Nicholl said: “We have Sean Higgins fit and I am keen to see him in action. We also have a boy over from Slovenia and want to have a look at him.”