SCOTTISH football legend Jim Leishman is to become a grandad for the first time – just months after losing his wife to cancer.
Big Leish’s daughter Kate has delighted the former-Dunfermline manager with the news she is expecting a baby next year.
The Fife club’s director of football has admitted he is “chuffed to bits” about the impending debut from the new member of his family.
Mary Leishman passed away in February aged just 53 after being diagnosed with the killer disease last September.
Overwhelmed with support
Leishman – one of Scottish football’s most colourful characters – was by her side when Mary lost her fight for life on the loving couple’s 30th wedding anniversary.
At the time, the dad-of-two admitted he was overwhelmed with support after receiving hundreds of condolence messages from, among others, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Sir Alex Ferguson and the checkout girls at his local Asda.
Following his wife’s death Leishman helped to set up a charity in her honour and completed an 81-mile trek around Fife to raise cash last month.
Leishman, 55, said: “It’s great news and I’m really pleased for Kate and Gordon. We’ve told all our mates and everyone is chuffed to bits.
“[Following Mary’s death] it’s not all been bad and there have been a lot of pluses too.
“The walk was first class and I’m glad we’ve managed to raise so much money for the charity.”
Leishman was first appointed Pars manager in 1983 and led them to a lengthy stay in the Premier League.
He controversially left the club in 1990 and continued his managerial success by leading Livingston into the top flight for the first time in their history.
He returned to his beloved Dunfermline in 2004 as director of football and took over as interim manger for the last three games of the season saving the club from relegation in the process.
The following season he took the Pars to the Hampden for the League Cup final before returning to the post of director of football.
