Tom Leighton is one for living in the here and now.
The Cove Rangers defender, who signed a one-year extension with the club in the summer, has always dealt with what is immediately in front of him.
Goals extend little beyond getting himself on the pitch more often and helping Cove maintain their upward trajectory. Both are imminently achievable.
“They offered me a new deal and I really enjoy it up there,” said Leighton, who initially signed a short-term deal in December after leaving Watford. “It’s a good team with good standards; they expect the very best from me and vice-versa. It’s a club with ambitions and that’s the kind of club I want to be at.
“I knew Gordon Young (Cove assistant) and he said ‘what you’re needing now is first-team football and you can get that at Cove’. I thought I’m not going to hesitate then. I know it’s a bit of a journey for me but it’s well worth it.
“I’m taking it as it comes. I’m always hoping to do my best and whatever comes from that we’ll see. I’m at Cove now and I’m trying to keep my mind on that, do my best for them. I’m not thinking about what’s going to happen next year. I live in the here and now.”
Leighton is one of many Scottish players in recent years who have left Scotland at a young age. Billy Gilmour went to Chelsea, Liam Morrison and recently Barry Hepburn have gone to Bayern Munich, Terry Taylor and Archie Mair left Aberdeen to go to Wolves and Norwich respectively.
Even in Leighton’s school, Jon McCracken went to Norwich City and Stuart McKinstry to Leeds. Watford was Leighton’s destination upon leaving Motherwell.
“What I will say about Watford is that everyone knew each other; it was a really close club. You could speak to the captain Troy (Deeney) just as easily as you could speak to your own coach Hayden Mullins.
“They had good facilities and I made a lot of good friends down there. Standards were very high and it was physically hard as well. You were in the gym near enough every day after training.
“In my school year I think I was the first to do it. There’s a boy Jon McCracken, who’s now at Norwich, and Stuart McKinstry, who’s two years younger than me, is at Leeds. I’m not saying they followed in my footsteps but I think it helps knowing someone else who has done it.
“I’m pretty sure none of them are regretting it. If you get the chance to go down there I think you should definitely – you’d live to regret it if you didn’t.”
Leighton qualifies to play for Northern Ireland through his paternal grandfather, something he did not know until a surprise call to Watford via Mullins.
He was part of an under-19s side that was knocked out of European Championship qualification on goal-difference, despite a late win over Kazakhstan in their final qualifier. Team-mates included Alfie McCalmont, who made his debut for the senior side in 2019 and recently signed a new contract at Leeds United, and Manchester United youngster Ethan Galbraith.
“My dad’s dad is from Belfast. It was strange the way we found out; I didn’t know, I found out off Hayden (Mullins) that the Northern Ireland squad were calling me up. I know my grandpa but I’d only seen him once, so I didn’t know he was Northern Irish. It just so happened that qualified me to play for them and I thought ‘I’m not going to turn down the chance to get an international cap’. I went out and did really well.
“It was a really good team we had. We got put out the Euros in the 90th minute, with the last kick of the ball. Kazakhstan went through and we didn’t. But it was all a good experience.
“All the games were being held in stadiums and you were getting a couple hundred people coming to watch. I’d never played in front of a crowd before then. As a footballer that’s very important. If I’d come to Cove having never played in front of fans, the occasion could maybe get to you. It definitely helped me as a football player.”
He takes a “cross that bridge if it comes” approach to who he would represent at senior level, stating he is playing for the one that wants him.
Should he become a regular at Cove and they continue their climb up the leagues, that talk may not be as distant as it is now.
“I need first-team games under my belt and I’ll do the best I can. As a team, I think we’re capable of the top four. There’s a few full-time teams and I believe they would have a bit more pressure on them to do well.
“But we’ve got a very strong squad, full of good players and most importantly a good coaching staff. I’d set our sights high and I wouldn’t put it past us to be able to do that. I think we’ll be up there.”