Brothers In Awe At Epic Euros Adventure 

Tom Bennett is home and buzzing after the unforgettable thrill of becoming a Tartan Army ‘foot soldier’ at the European Championships.

The former Wolves utility man attended Scotland’s decisive and ultimately deflating defeat against Hungary in Stuttgart during a stay in Germany with his son, two brothers and a nephew.

“The football’s the football and the night ended disappointingly but the whole few days were an absolutely brilliant experience,” he said. “My son’s 22 so for him to have the chance to watch Scotland at a major tournament – and for me to be at his side – was something we will always remember.

“One of my brothers and me had this sort of adventure in mind as our 50th birthdays approached and it finally came together two or three years on.

“I have travelled to Germany quite a lot through work and knew something about where to stay and where to be. But my main contact with the national team was way back at Euro 96, when I saw the games against England at Wembley and Switzerland at Villa Park.

“I then had a few days in France in 1998 at the World Cup but my son wasn’t even born at that time.

“My brothers are in the Tartan Army, so the travelling was not new to them. We only had tickets for the one game, so we flew into Munich for a couple of days, then got the train up to Stuttgart and just took in the atmosphere. That was phenomenal.

“It was exhausting as well as fabulous and it’s one of those trips I’ll take a couple of days to recover from. You can only spend so long in those fan-parks and Irish bars!

“There was no trouble whatsoever, though, and you wouldn’t guess from being over there and seeing everyone just happily supporting Scotland and not displaying any club colours that things can get pretty tribal between Celtic and my club, Rangers.”

Bennett, who joined Villa as a lad in 1985 before being signed by Graham Turner for Wolves two years later, never visited Germany in a long playing career that also took in Walsall and Dave Jones’s Stockport.

He is a regular visitor to Wolverhampton, Compton Park in particular, as he has worked part-time for 17 years in Blackburn’s academy. And therein lies a special reason for him watching England’s game against Slovenia on TV tonight.

“Adam Wharton came through our system and I was delighted to see him selected for the tournament, even if it was a couple of years ahead of where a few of us thought he would be,” the 54-year-old added.

“You could see he was going to be 6ft 2 and have a real chance. He comes from a great family and has a brother, Scott, playing for us at Rovers. 

“Kobbie Mainoo has more Premier League experience, of course, and is also waiting for his chance, but I will be watching with great interest tonight to see whether Adam might figure at some point. And I will have a pint of water at my side….no alcohol for a few days!”

Bennett’s own brother, Neil, played for Stirling Albion in the Kevin Drinkell-Ray Stewart era, having two spells there as well as serving several other Scottish clubs.

Tom, who lives in Chorley, is the European accounts manager for a major furniture company and also has Madrid, America and India on his list of business destinations.