JUMPING THE DYKES

Lyndon desperate to go from finals TV pundit to 2026 World Cup player, Striker: It was agony being at Scots camp while pals geared up for tourney

- KEITH JACKSON

IT may have been one of his better decisions... or it could have been one of his worst. Lyndon Dykes is still not entirely sure, either way.

It's been almost 18 months since he was robbed of a place in Steve Clarke's squad at the Euros by injury and then decided to accept an invite to join up with the camp at their picture perfect Alpine camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in any case.

On the one hand, he spent a couple of weeks on the inside of Scotland's big tournament adventure.

On the other, he was isolated as an onlooker, limping around Germany in a protective boot and reduced to the role of TV analyst.

And as much as he enjoyed working in front of the cameras, he can't stand the thought of being asked to do it all over again across Canada, Mexico and the USA next summer.

No, Dykes doesn’t want to be a World Cup pundit.

On the contrary, he’s desperate to make himself a World Cup player.

"Yeah, it was difficult," Dykes winces a little when asked to reflect on choosing to place himself so close to the action and yet feeling so very far away. “There were times out there when I was a bit down, a bit sad seeing the boys train and travel to play these amazing games with all the support we had.

“I'd be lying to say I wasn't watching these games wishing I was out there.

“But looking back, the positives probably outweighed the negatives.