Why Raith Rovers' Paul Hanlon is happy Scotland v Haiti kicks off at 2am

For the veteran centre-back’s sister Lisa will be getting married on Saturday, June 13 – a ceremony for which Hanlon is a guest – before this country’s first appearance at the finals in 28 years comes in Boston, USA, a few hours later in a 2am kick-off our time on Sunday, June 14.

Hanlon, 36, who represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 levels and made one full international appearance as a substitute in a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic at Hampden Park in October 2020, told the Fife Free Press: “The same as every other Scotland fan, I just loved watching the qualification.

"Obviously, we probably rode our luck a couple of times.

"I loved the 4-2 win against Denmark which sealed the qualification and the scenes that were on show afterwards. Obviously, we've got Mark McKenna (Raith Rovers first team coach and Scotland’s performance analysis manager) here as well. He was a big part of that Scotland set-up.

"It was good to hear from him about how it all went.

"I’m just really looking forward to the summer. My sister's wedding is actually the day of the Haiti game. So I’ve got that during the day and then I’ll watch the game after so it's worked out perfectly, finish the wedding and then watch that.”

When asked if he thinks this could finally be the year Scotland senior men reach the second round of a major tournament for the first time in history – they also face Group C matches against Morocco on June 19 and Brazil on June 24 – Hanlon added: “I don't know, that's not my place. I'll just enjoy it as a fan.

"I went to Munich for the Germany game at the Euros in 2024 (a 5-1 Scotland defeat) and I loved being there as a fan. I just enjoy it.

"That's the benefit for the whole country. Qualifying means we're all together and we can all enjoy it together.

"I won’t be attending any of the Scotland games this summer because obviously Raith Rovers will be back for training around that time.”

Summing up his brief, two-game spell as Raith interim manager in November after former boss Barry Robson was fired (and ultimately replaced by current incumbant Dougie Imrie), Hanlon said: It came so quickly for me. I was just kind of just thrown into it.

"There were a couple of discussions where I was asked to do it and I agreed.

"Pottsy (Raith technical director John Potter) obviously knows the club inside out and was a great help to me showing me how it all works.

" So that was fine that way, but I still had the analysts and the sports scientists all asking questions of me and I wasn't really sure how I wanted it to work out.

"It was just a case of running a few days through and saying: ‘That's good, that's good’, but maybe we change a couple of things.

"It was learning on the job and it was great for me.

"I absolutely loved being in there every day, working with the team and making a few decisions.”

Hanlon and Raith face a crunch home William Championship match against Queen’s Park this Saturday which kicks off at 3pm.