Tartan Army stalwart Shug, has been going to every Scotland game since Christ left Dumbarton as his Mum now explains: "He gets decked out in full Highland regalia topped with a CU Jimmy wig and tailed with a pair of DM boots. Although he looks very colourful he does get stared at on the bus going into work."

Shug, 42, has lived with his Mum all her life, apart from a brief interlude when he went off to university, as his Mum recalls : "University was a great disappointment to Shug. He’d totally misread the letter he got from them. He thought it was offering him a chance to study at university, what it actually said was that scientists wanted to study him at University. He was always an unusual child."

Thankfully, a lack of higher education has not stood in Shug’s way. He holds down a demanding job at his local council office, mainly involving holding down the lid of the office photocopier because it’s a bit temperamental.

Eileen, the office manager, says that Shug’s well-liked in the office but a bit obsessive: "He’s either talking about some obscure and pointless friendly that Scotland have just played or he’s talking about planning for the trip with his mates to the next game. I met his mates in a pub once. They’re all exactly like Shug. Noisy in a group, but a bit quiet and sad when you talk to them on their own." There’s little romance in Shug’s life, altho’ Eileen recalls, he nearly had a girlfriend once.

"There was this one girl in the office, a few years back, temping I think, and Shug really fancied her, and I think she quite liked him. They got quite friendly I think, because he invited her for a weekend in Vienna. I think she was a bit disappointed when she turned up at the airport and there was Shug and 20 mates looking forward to the game against Austria. I don’t think the trip went that well and she moved on anyway soon after. About a year later, Shug spotted her photo in the paper, it looked like a nice wedding. He was very quiet for the rest of the day. I think her name was Fiona."

And how will Shug while away the hours in late June until it's safe to turn the TV on again? He’ll be putting together an album of photographs recording the trips he’s made as part of the TA. "It’ll be a good wee souvenir thing to keep in the pub " he told The JT while leafing through innumerable snapshots of precious memories that he keeps in a shoebox under the bed.

"It was time to get it organised. I haven’t decided yet whether to arrange the photos by date or alphabetically by country played." He pauses over one photo and smiles sadly, "Oh there’s us all in Vienna. A 3-2 that one I think. There’s Pat, Robert and Alan. And just to the left of the group there, looking a wee bit grumpy, that’s Fiona. I don’t think she had that great a time to be honest. Nice lassie tho’, got married you know. Moved away to London. I send her a Xmas card ever year letting her know what I’m up to. It's just a wee note." Shug pauses and sighs,