Friday 27 March 2015 12:34, UK
Scotsman David Wilson takes charge of Gibraltar for the first time on Sunday at Hampden Park – and he plans to sing both national anthems.
After being born in Glasgow, Wilson moved to Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, eventually joining the youth ranks at Kilmarnock. After his football career failed to take off, he joined the Royal Navy in 1994.
After serving in Oman and Dubai among other locations, he arrived in Gibraltar in 2008, and played football for local side Glacis United. He was named assistant to national team head coach Allen Bula in April 2013, as Gibraltar was accepted as a member nation by UEFA.
Interim head coach Wilson said: “I might not sing the Scottish one as loud as I used to, but the words will come out. I don’t think there’s a Scotsman in the world who would say when they hear Flower of Scotland, they won’t sing it.”
However, he has no doubt about where his loyalties lie on Sunday. He added: “We’re pleased to be here and we’ve got a job to do.
“I’ve been in Gibraltar for nearly eight years. I have a passion for these guys and our football. I’ve sweat and bled with these boys and singing the national anthem over this campaign has sent shivers down my spine.”
After four heavy defeats in qualifying to Poland, Republic of Ireland, Georgia and Germany, Bula was sacked on March 2. Wilson has been placed in temporary charge and says “words can’t describe” the way the situation has played out, with Scotland being his first opposition.
He said: “This isn’t writable – people would laugh if you told them this story. I’ve got to come to Scotland and walk out at Hampden and be thinking I’ve got to do everything to frustrate them and ruin their campaign.”
Gibraltar have conceded 21 goals in their four competitive games so far, and Wilson is under no illusions as to what his side will have to do to have a chance on Sunday.
“We’ve asked the groundsmen to plough a potato field and then we’re going to park a bus in front of that,” he joked. “We’re going to try to frustrate them, as we’ve done on numerous occasions against some of the big teams.
“It’s worth remembering that we are a new team coming through. We’re going to make mistakes and it’s going to take us a little bit of time to get that momentum. We have to take it bit by bit see where that leads us.”
Wilson insists that it won’t all be about defending, and is hoping his side can score their first international goal.
He said: “The players deserve a goal. It’d be a dream for me if we did it in Scotland. For us to score at Hampden, that’ll be a knee slide for sure on the pitch.”
Gibraltar’s qualifier against Scotland at Hampden Park is live on Sunday on Sky Sports 1 from 4.30pm.
