World Cup: we don’t need a Bank Holiday for Scotland’s big opening game

As much as we all like an extra day off, the whole idea of the nation kicking back on Monday, June 15 and basking in glory - or, let’s be honest, with our track record, quite possibly glorious defeat - was a non-starter.

First Minister John Swinney’s wee idea may well have resonated with the troops, but it was little more than a headline grabbing idea to tap into a genuinely feel-good moment. Not like a savvy politician to hitch on to a passing bandwagon, is it?

He could have gone further, and promised to deliver a free cairry oot to every home that wanted one, along with a ‘Yes Sir we can boogie’ t-shirt., He could even have ordered his own MSPs to hot foot it round as many houses as possible to hand out tartan bunnets and take as many selfies as possible before kick-off.

I get the buzz around the game and the importance of the occasion. After nigh on 30 years in the World Cup wilderness, this is oor moment, and we should all gie it laldy, even if we know that glorious failure is as much part of our DNA as Irn Bru.

Where this jamboree was always going to fall down was the fact the game kicks off at 2:00am on Sunday, rather than Monday - so we don’t really need the day off, and if your hangover is still nipping come breakfast time on Monday then you really need to assess just how much booze you are putting away.

And while a Bank Holiday may have the signature of the King attached to it, it is far from a universal holiday - no employer is compelled to give staff the day off.

I hope SNP councillor David Alexander is right when he speaks of the “euphoria” that is about to erupt across the country this summer. He is much, much closer to the Tartan Army than I am, and was keen to see the day off sanctioned by the council.

And he is right to the extent that we desperately need something to unite this nation. The forthcoming Scottish parliamentary election certainly won’t - indeed, outwith the party faithful is anyone even talking about who will win the vote?

So it is up to Steve Clarke’s troops to basically not screw it up.

They need to fill the fans’ zones here and the pubs in every High Street to deliver the economic boost so many of them need. Unfortunately, the timings work against every single boozer with kicks offs at 2:00am and 11:00pm really don’t work for most people. Life - work, families etc - all get in the way.

My days of falling out of a pub or club around 4:30am are certainly long gone. Like most I’ll be watching from home, if I can stay awake - if not, I suspect I’ll join the vast majority who watch it all on catch-up. Maybe we need to adopt the Republic of Ireland as our second team given their tea-time, and mid evening start times …

Of course, if Scotland get through to the knockout stages, and somehow navigate their way to the semis or even the final - I know, calm doon! - then that’s when John Swinney and the King can sign any decree ordering our bosses to shut up shop and let us savour a one in a lifetime moment.

To borrow the title of an old World Cup song, don’t come home too soon.