Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl might well be almost 200 miles away when his team take on Rangers tomorrow but the Blue Brazil boss will be following every kick of the ball.
Nicholl’s new role as assistant to Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill means he has to be in Belfast with the squad ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifier with Finland, with Cowden number two Lee Makel taking his club side at Ibrox.
But the proud Northern Irishman, who watched his country go down 1-0 to Scotland at Hampden on Wednesday, insists the Cowden players will still be fully prepared for their trip to Govan this weekend.
“There’s no getting around it but I don’t miss anything else that’s the only interference,” he said of his enforced absence tomorrow.
“But at my age it’s a great opportunity when you are asked to do it.
“Lee Makel will stand in on Saturday and all the preparation will be done.
“And I’ll obviously be tuned in to see how the lads are getting on.
“We’ve been conceding goals too easily and it is something we are going to have to stop doing if we are to get the results we need to get to safety.”
Cowden, who went down 1-0 to promotion chasing Falkirk in midweek, will be without defender Kenny Adamson after his straight red card on Tuesday night earned him a two-game ban.
Meanwhile, Nicholl admits it would be an “amazing feeling” if Northern Ireland could reach their first major finals in almost 30 years, and indeed their first ever European Championships.
“It would mean the world to this bunch of players if they qualified for next summer’s European Championship,” he concluded.
“They would be part of Northern Ireland’s football history and would go down in folklore.”