Should Lyndon Dykes become a goalscoring hero for Scotland at Euro 2020, those at Caley Thistle may well smile at the small part they played.
Dykes has become somewhat of a cult hero since his call-up to the Scotland squad last year.
Be it his uncompromising, roughneck style against defenders, his ever-changing hairstyles or his laid-back nature that comes with being raised on the Gold Coast of Australia, Dykes is a new favourite of the Tartan Army.
This week he was able to call on assistance from Championship club Caley Thistle, in a bid to get him sharp for the European Championships.
Dykes had picked up a knee injury in Queens Park Rangers’ final game of the season against Luton Town and was looking for somewhere ahead of Scotland’s training camp in Spain next week to stay fresh.
Through a connection at his representatives StormSportsX, Dykes made contact with ex-Inverness interim boss Neil McCann. Billy Dodds, who came in to assist McCann towards the end of the season, and first-team coach Barry Wilson were brought in to help put the striker through his paces.
“Neil was wanting to do a bit of work with him and asked me and Billy to go in and help,” said Wilson. “We did a bit of fitness work and finishing drills – striker-specific stuff.
“A couple of the younger lads, Cameron Harper and Roddy MacGregor, were helping out for numbers as well.
“It’s just a wee bit of top-up work before he heads off and we were happy to put our own time into it.”
Dykes was in the Highland capital for three days this week and managed to get a couple of rounds of golf in with the coaching trio before he headed off.
He was named in the 26-man squad for the Euros earlier this week, with a training camp in Spain and friendlies against Netherlands and Luxembourg next in the pipeline.
The 25-year-old has scored twice in 10 games for Scotland, whom he qualifies to play for through his parents. He is likely to be among Steve Clarke’s most dependable figures when it comes to facing Czech Republic, England and Croatia next month.
Dodds, himself a former Scotland international with 26 caps, hopes Dykes can reap rewards from his mini pre-tournament workout.
“Hopefully he goes and does the business,” said Dodds. “He just needed a bit of training to keep his legs ticking over until he goes away with Scotland to Spain next week. He loved it and worked hard.
“He needed training facilities and Neil said to him to come up and we’d train him. He’s had plenty different people giving him different ideas. He’s thoroughly enjoyed it, the big man.
“It’s not really too different from the norm but there’s some boys you give specific training too, like Stephen Dobbie and Liam Boyce. It wasn’t really one-to-one, with Cammy and Roddy coming in, Ryan Esson and Cameron Mackay as goalkeepers. There was plenty to work with.
“I said to Neil (McCann) for a laugh that if he does well, it’s down to me and if he doesn’t, it’s his fault!”
The trio would already have been avid Scotland fans next month anyway. Ryan Christie being in the Scotland squad gives reason for those of a Caley Jags persuasion to be cheerful.
But seeing Dykes strutting his stuff on the big stage and who knows, perhaps delivering a crucial a goal or two, will show they have played their part.
“I’m not on social media but my daughter said he’d put a couple of things on Instagram,” added Wilson, who like Dykes turned out for Livingston during his playing career.
“I think he was quite happy. If he goes and scores the winner against England, we’ll all be buzzing.”
