How is 'Little Scotland' feeling about the World Cup?

More than 200 miles south of the Scottish border, hundreds of Scots living in an English town are proudly cheering on the Tartan Army in the FIFA World Cup.

Corby in Northamptonshire is often referred to as “Little Scotland” due to the large number of Scottish steelworkers who settled there in the 1930s.

Fans were ecstatic in the early hours of Sunday morning when Scotland celebrated their first World Cup victory in 36 years, beating Haiti 1-0, and they take on Morocco later from 23:00 BST.

But how are the Scots in Corby, who are surrounded by the English, feeling for the rest of the tournament – and just how far do they think the team can go?

Cheryl Gollogly, 52, has lived in Corby all her life, but had Scottish grandparents.

She explained that she would be watching all of the Scotland games at The Evs pub on Cottingham Road.

“It’s been brilliant because it took years for them to get back,” she said of the Tartan Army.

“About time – and I think they can go further than England. They deserve to.”

Gollogly stated she was supportive of England, but felt the Scots had more to prove.

Steve Miller, 67, moved to Corby from Wick in the north of Scotland, not far from John O’Groats, when he was seven.

He proudly stated he was Scottish “through and through”, but was “apprehensive, excited, all at the same time” for the rest of the World Cup.

“It’d be nice if we go further than we’ve ever gone before and because we got a good result in the first game, I think we will qualify for the knockout stages,” he added.

“After that, it’s a lottery, isn’t it?”

Lorraine McQuade, 51, is a hairdresser at the salon Reveal and was born in Glasgow before she moved to Corby when she was about two.

“I think they’re doing amazing so far,” she said of the Scottish team.

“I’m really happy they’re going to be there.

“Fingers crossed for [Friday] night that they’re going to do well. We’re very hopeful.

“No Scotland, no party, so they say.”

She admitted she was not expecting a win, but said it would be “the best thing ever” if that did happen.

Joe Kennedy, 71, was born in Corby, but has Scottish and Irish heritage.

He said the last time Scotland was in the World Cup back in 1998 had been “brilliant”.

“Hopefully we can go as far as we can go,” he explained.

“If we qualify out of the qualifiers now at the moment, that’s further than we’ve ever gone before in the World Cup, and I just hope we can just get better and better.

“Whether we’ll win it, my heart says yes, my brain says perhaps not.”

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