King Charles III joked Jim Leishman should be the next England manager when the Dunfermline legend welcomed him to Fife.
The King and Queen Consort Camilla were in the Kingdom on Monday to officially confer city status on the Auld Grey Toon.
Leishman, who is now Fife Provost, was among those who welcomed the royal couple to the City Chambers.
The 68-year-old played close to a century of games for the Pars and later became the club’s youngest ever manager, guiding them to promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history.
And it appears King Charles knew all about Leishman’s history.
The Provost said: “He was talking to me all about Dunfermline Football Club, believe it or not.
“He said I did really well at the football and I should be proud of my record.
“Afterwards, he said: ‘Good luck with your team. We’ll maybe get you to take on the England team!'”
‘I’m always proud to talk about Dunfermline’
England manager Gareth Southgate has been under pressure lately after a poor run of results.
Leishman laughed: “I’m certainly not expecting that job!”
The Provost enjoyed his chat with the new King, who was in Fife as part of the first official engagement of his reign.
After the ceremony at the City Chambers, the King and Queen Consort chatted with hundreds of people who had gathered to see them.
They then walked to Dunfermline Abbey to help celebrate its 950th anniversary.
Leishman – a former Labour councillor who has been Fife Provost for 10 years – was delighted with the visit and his short chat with King Charles.
“It was great,” he said.
“I’m always proud to talk about Dunfermline.”
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