SCOTLAND squad new boy Chris Iwelumo knows he'll be sent on to the pitch at Hampden on Saturday with just one message ringing in his ears – "Score me a hat-trick."
However, it won't come from boss George Burley, but his mother Alice who, he said, has been sent into ecstasy by his call-up for the crucial World Cup qualifying match against Norway.
At 30, Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Iwelumo admits to bein
g "just buzzing" after being drafted into the full Scotland squad for the first time. But that, he revealed, was nothing compared to his mother.
He said: "She's even more excited than me, if that is possible. She's been phoning me four of five times a day, but that's just the way she's always been.
"From my early days, she'd would say 'just score me a hat-trick today' and I expect I'll get the same message on Saturday morning. I'll do my best to please her."
Coatbridge-born Iwelumo would send a whole nation, never mind his mum, into raptures if he did so and while he can dream the 6ft 4in hitman is already walking on cloud nine following his surprise summons to join Burley's squad as they prepare on the banks of Loch Lomond for the big match.
It's a belated call for the much-travelled striker and his first involvement with the national squad apart from a B cap against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin last November after which he appeared to have returned to obscurity.
But, he revealed today, it could have been all so different after he caught the eye of former Scotland coach Berti Vogts while playing for Stoke City six years ago.
He said: "I was in the squad to go to South Korea but Stoke wouldn't let me go because they were still involved in the play-offs. It was a blow and while I was bitterly disappointed, I had to take it on the chin."
Winning promotion helped soften the pain, but as he continued to be overlooked Iwelumo refused to give up hope, his spirits raised when he heard former Ipswich Town, Derby County, Hearts and Southampton manager George Burley was to succeed Alex McLeish as Scotland boss. He said: "I always had that thought in my mind that if I was doing the right things for my club then, hopefully, that door would open. I was delighted when I heard George had been appointed Scotland coach because I knew he knows the Championship in England very well and what it takes in that league."
Unbeknown to Iwelumo, however, was the fact Burley was tracking his performances following a summer move from Charlton Athletic to the English midlands.
He said: "George told me the other day he had come down to watch me a couple of times but I knew nothing about it. Usually the club give you a little whisper but I didn't have an inkling."
Eight goals in seven games, including a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Preston North End, didn't harm Iwelumo's chances although it was left to Wolves boss Mick McCarthy to break the good news to him.
He said: "I was at a golf day with the other boys from Wolves when the gaffer sent me a text telling me I'd be in the Scotland squad. I hadn't played golf for about a year-and-a-half and wasn't hitting my shots particularly well but my game picked up after that text."
Iwelumo was one of seven Championship players named by Burley, right, in his squad for this weekend's clash, but he insisted England's second tier shouldn't be derided by the Tartan Army. He said: "Perhaps the fans up here under-estimate it a bit but not the players in the Scotland camp, they are all very keen on watching it.
"It's a fantastic league, there are a lot of big teams down there, fantastic grounds, big crowds and terrific atmospheres. The football is good, very physical and anyone can beat anyone else on their day." Pointing out how the English Premier League is more or less the preserve of Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal and the SPL title goes to either Celtic or Rangers, he added: "The Championship is the most open of the lot.
"It goes right down to the wire every season which is what it should be all about. It's a difficult league to win because there are so many big teams, clubs with a lot of money and strength in depth in their squads.
"You need to start on the front foot in every game which luckily we have done so far at Wolves."
Having said that, Iwelumo conceded he's stepping up a level, but insisted he didn't feel overawed at feeling the weight of the nation's expectations resting on his shoulders.
He said: "It's a massive game but that's what it is all about. Players want to be involved in such games and I am no different. It's a massive compliment to be chosen and I just want to be a part of it all on Saturday."
And Iwelumo insisted finally donning a dark blue jersey will make the long and varied journey upon which he's been travelling since signing for St Mirren 12 years ago all worthwhile. A year with Danish side Aarhus followed, then four-and-a-half years with Stoke City which also included loan spells to York City, Cheltenham Town and Brighton, six months at German club Alemannia Aachen before returning to England to play with Colchester, Charlton and, now, Wolves.
He said: "I've been about a bit, done a fair bit of travelling to get to where I am today. But I wouldn't change anything. I've learned something from everywhere I have been."
Far be it from Iwelumo to suggest to Burley as to how he might best be deployed against Norway, but added: "I'm a target man, I think I have good mobility and strength, I make the ball stick up front and I like to score goals.
"People go on about the big man, little man partnership and when I was with Colchester wee Jamie Cureton and I scored more than 50 goals in one-and-a-half seasons.
"He got 24 and I scored 18 before I went to Charlton with him, me the big man holding it up and flicking it on with him nipping about around me.
"I'd love to go out there and play on Saturday but that's the manager's decision."
One thing is for sure, Iwelumo will have his fingers crossed Burley gives him long enough on the pitch to meet the exacting demands of mum.
The full article contains 1125 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
