Morocco, next. Big test. Scotland are the underdogs now. Is Dykes ready for a massive step-up? “I’m always ready. I always give my best and wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m ready for whatever my role is.”
The charisma is hard to miss, the eloquence, the attitude, the self-belief.
“The way I’ve come through football, I’ve earned what I’ve got,” he says. “Scottish people, in general, we’re fighters. We want to go out and prove everyone wrong. We’re not going to just roll over and just take it. It gives you a burning feeling in your belly.
“We can definitely get another two wins in this tournament. It’s going to be difficult but I believe in myself, I believe in my team and I believe in the manager and all the fans that have travelled over as well to help us win games.”
Morocco, he says, have world-class players and are a serious team. Scotland can’t just sit-in and soak up their pressure. “It’s not how we want to be. We want to be dangerous.”
Dykes will most likely start on the bench against Morocco, but at least he’s here.
Oli McBurnie and Kieron Bowie were both much-talked about in the preamble to the squad announcement, but Clarke picked Dykes ahead of them. He knows him and trusts him and the feeling is mutual.
You get the feeling that the player would do anything for the manager.
“Ever since I’ve come to Scotland, people have seen what I’ve given,” Dykes says. “I’m in double figures for goals. I’ve been involved in making tournaments and I’m super grateful to him [Clarke].
“When I first spoke to him, he said it’s not a given that you’re always going to get called up, you have to make sure you prove yourself.
“I think I always do that, even if some people say I’m not scoring enough goals. I do a lot more in other aspects to help the team.”
He will be called upon again on Friday in Boston, a bit-part, perhaps, but a part he will relish. Morocco won’t miss him; bald and belligerent and up for the battle.
