Charlie Christie still on cloud nine after son Ryan helps Scotland reach World Cup

Charlie Christie says watching son Ryan help Scotland qualify for the World Cup is one of the most brilliant moments of his life.

The former ICT now Bournemouth midfielder featured on Tuesday to help the men's side qualify for the tournament for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Two remarkable goals from Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean in injury time saw Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 and secure automatic qualification.

At full time, players were allowed up the famous steps at Hampden to celebrate the momentous victory with their families.

Caley Thistle legend Charlie explained how much it meant to him, as it was his Grandson's first Scotland game.

He said: "It was a brilliant occasion and the fact your son plays a part in it is fantastic.

"There's that group of players Steve Clarke has gone on about, he said he trusts them implicitly, you could probably name 10 or 12. 

"It was great to see them play their part on Tuesday night as well.

"I think just the euphoria of it and it was good for me personally because it was Ryan's son's first ever Scotland game, he's two and half years old. 

"It was just brilliant, when I saw him celebrating with the young fella it was one of the most brilliant moments of my life."

Asked if he had come down from cloud nine, Charlie said: "No, not really. 

"Still buzzing, I think the whole nation is buzzing. 

"It's great, it's a long time coming so I think the way it happened as well, typical Scotland don't make anything easy.

"It's one of these nights we'll all remember for the rest of our days."

With many Scotland fans already looking to book flights for next year, Charlie doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

He added: “Obviously, I can’t be too presumptuous that Ryan will be involved, but I hope he will be.

“The draw is on December 5, which is my wife’s birthday which is hopefully a good omen.

“There are so many venues you can look at – I would love to visit Vancouver, and I actually played in Toronto many years ago.

“The thought of watching Scotland play in a World Cup in New York is a buzz, but I don’t know whether to wait until the 5th or book now.

“I can worry about that later, I think we can just all savour the moment.

Inspiring the next generation

As well as being a proud dad, Charlie himself is a Highland football legend.

He played for both Inverness Thistle and Caledonian before the club merged to form Inverness Caledonian Thistle with a stint at Celtic inbetween.

Charlie was part of famous ICT team which beat Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead in the Scottish Cup more than 25 years ago.

After retiring from playing, he has held many roles at Caley Thistle including Manager, Academy Director and is currently Chief Executive.

Charlie also played a pivotal role in coaching Ryan when he was younger and hopes his son, who won the Scottish Cup with Inverness in 2015, will continue to inspire the next generation.

He said: "I think it's great for the Highlands.

"I love seeing any sportsperson in any walk of life doing well up here because I think sometimes people think sports stops at Perth. It certainly does not.

"I've not shied away from the fact I would love to see more homegrown players in our team.

"But let's not beat about the bush, that's difficult.

"The lack of playing time in recent years for under 21 players right across the board, from a top team in Celtic to the bottom team in the lowest league is not good.

"It doesn't bare comparison to many other nations, so we need to change that somehow."