The Road to Lisbon: A Novel

‘On the Road’ for football fans with an expertly sketched Jock Stein in the driver’s seat’ –The Scotsman

‘As a fellow writer The Road to Lisbon fills me with envy and admiration. Not my team, not quite my era yet I was hooked – utterly drawn in by the two narratives and it made me remember what I felt like when I first fell in love with football and it wasn’t a job but a passion. Thank you to Charlie and Martin for that’ Graham Hunter, Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert –Graham Hunter, Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert

Without doubt, 1967 was a landmark year for Celtic. In the hands of Jock Stein, they had become a mighty team, and this novel is set in the week leading up to the European Championship in Lisbon, where there were to face Inter Milan for the cup. It tells of Tim, a young man from the Gorbals who travels to Portugal with some mates for the game. Tim aspires to be an artist, and the tension between his upbringing and the bohemian world he wants to join is palpable. But his story is interspersed with the thoughts of Stein himself as he plans for the forthcoming match with military resolve and thinks back over his career up to that point, The Stein sections can be a little exposition-heavy, but they re intense, portraying the legendary manager almost as a force of nature. By focussing on both boss and fan, the authors capture the passion and determination of the true football devotee’ –Alastair Mabbott, The Herald