DAVID WILSON will lead Gibraltar out at Hampden Park tomorrow resisting the urge to leap over the wall and join the Tartan Army as they roar Scotland on.
And when he gets to the dug-outs he will have to stop himself obeying every order his opposite number, Gordon Strachan, barks from the Scotland side.
The last time the Royal Navy rehabilitation instructor met Strachan, it was as a young player being ordered about the pitch in training drills as the Scotland legend took his UEFA B coaching badge.
Wilson's transformation into an international manager is an extraordinary tale.
When the 41-year-old from Kilwinning, a former apprentice with Kilmarnock, steps out for the Euro 2016 qualifier tomorrow, it will be his first game as a manager in senior football.
For Wilson, this is a dream come true. And the boy who stood on the terraces at Hampden cheering on his heroes many a time will make the most of it.
"We can train on the Hampden pitch the night before the game, and I am going to make sure when the lads have finished I'll be banging a few free-kicks and shots into the nets. I've always wanted to do that," the affable Wilson says.
He only intended helping out the Gibraltar team as a fitness instructor when he was posted to the Rock in 2013, and then found that then coach Allen Bula actually wanted him to be his assistant.
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When Bula was sacked last month, he suddenly found himself in charge of one of world football's youngest teams.
It is a bizarre tale. Wilson was a teenage apprentice with Killie when he decided professional football was not for him, and the Navy was the career he wanted. In between he played for his local Junior club, Kilwinning Rangers - the team he still helps to coach when he goes back home.
Gibraltar only became a full member of UEFA in 2013, allowing them to compete in the Euro Championships.
We might well surprise a few people
David Wilson
They shocked everyone when they held Slovakia to a goalless draw soon after that, but, predictably, qualifying has not gone so well, with four defeats from four games.
But, in a group which also includes Germany, Poland and Ireland, perhaps that is not so surprising.
"All our players are part-timers, but acceptance by UEFA has meant there is money about to pay them a wage - but it's still only £50 a match," said Wilson.
"We have a few Ministry of Defence employees, a couple of policemen, a lawyer and a customs officer. But we do have good players. In friendlies, we have drawn in Estonia and beaten Malta.
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When we drew Scotland, I couldn't believe it. I'll have loads of family at Hampden. My mum is not well enough to go, though, so she'll be watching on TV back in Kilwinning.
"I still go and help back there with the coaching whenever I'm in Scotland. But I have been in Gibraltar on and off now since 2008, and we are settled here.
"I decided to leave Kilmarnock as I wanted a career in the Navy - I have been in there nearly 22 years now. At the time, St Johnstone and Motherwell also wanted me, but I knew what I wanted to do.
"When I was posted to Gibraltar I got in touch and offered to help with fitness - I've a lot of experience of non-League football. The next thing I knew I was assistant manager, and then, when Allen left, I was given the job on an interim basis. It's unbelievable, really.
"The last time I saw Gordon Strachan was when he was doing his coaching licence with the SFA up at Largs.
"I was one of the apprentices the SFA pulled in from Kilmarnock to help them do their drills."
Petty Officer Wilson, who, as well as playing for the Navy, had spells with non-League clubs such as Bashley, Newport Isle of Wight and Worthing, has two England-based professionals in Preston right-back Scott Wiseman and Bristol Rovers winger Jake Gosling in his squad.
"It's going to be interesting when we walk out on Sunday and they play Flower of Scotland. I'm sure I'll have a lump in my throat," he added.
"As they say, I'll be caught between a Rock and a hard place!
"But my allegiance lies with my team, there's no doubt about that.
