I watched Saints’ Cup win for first time with my wee boy... it still gave me goosebumps
Booth dreaming of another incredible run after being inspired by Saints highlights
SPARTANS’ Callum Booth only needs a video and his wee boy to gain inspiration for more Cup glory over Edinburgh’s finest.
The former St Johnstone star takes on Hearts in Saturday’s TV glamour fourth-round clash.
And he is ready for further heroics having already lifted the Cup with the Perth side after beating Jambos’ city rivals Hibs in 2021.
Booth has yet to play back the full epic Hampden match but earlier this week he sat down with his five-year-old Remy to relive highlights – and it gave him goosebumps.
The fullback – who also won the League Cup with Saints as part of a glory double – said: “It was the best day of my career. It was a great team and an amazing couple of years at St Johnstone.
“I still can’t believe what happened to win the cup double. My wee boy, Remy is into football now. “He will be at the game as a fan on Saturday so that will be good that he can come and watch me at Spartans. “He understands the game now. I was showing him some of the cup highlights the other day. I’ve never watched the Scottish Cup final back but I did watch the highlights the other day.
“It still gave me goosebumps watching it back.”
Booth went part-time this month with the League Two side so he could focus on his home-letting business.
It also gives the left-back the opportunity to continue to play at a decent level and he will be aiming to show how far Spartans have come when they host Steven Naismith’s city rivals at Ainslie Park this weekend.
The 32-year-old: “The boys have done brilliantly to get this far. It is a massive game for the club and being from Edinburgh, to play another team from the city is amazing.
“Hearts are the third best team in the country as it stands and have been absolutely brilliant. It shows how far the Spartans have come.
“It is live on television and we will now go out and try to put on a good performance.”
Booth has had his recent injury issues and believes this move will help him on and off the park. It also helped that two of his closest friends in football, James Craigen and Paul Watson were at Spartans.
The full-back said: “It allows me to keep playing football part-time at a good level and also gives me more time for work and family. I have been planning for life after football for the last eight or nine years.
“I started doing courses when I was 21 to 22. I always knew it would come to an end at some point but I still feel I have a few more years left in me and going part-time will help me do that.”
Meanwhile, Spartans chairman Craig Graham admits the club are taking extra precautions to ensure the glamour tie does not fall victim to the cold snap.
Although the League Two side play on an artificial pitch, the surface is not completely resistant to frost.
Graham said: “The weather in the next couple of days is a worry, it’s supposed to get better on Friday and we have a plan in place to thaw the pitch. It’s the coldest it’s been for a long time.
“We’ve got covers in the corner that we’ve borrowed from Grange cricket. We’ve also got the guys from FieldTurf and they’re coming down on Friday.
“We’ve got a plan with them to salt the pitch and things like that. We were able to train on it on Tuesday night.”