Dumbarton midfielder Kyle Hutton admits he intends to cherish every minute of Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash at Aberdeen after conceding that the door to full-time football is closing on him.
The former Rangers trainee turned down Inverness to move to Dumbarton in summer 2017, and supports his young family with a job on the railways.
In November 2010, Hutton was starring on the biggest stage as he went toe-to-toe with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in a narrow Champions League defeat to Manchester United at Ibrox.
Just a few weeks shy of his 29th birthday, Hutton is now determined to enjoy his time in professional football, and that means making the most of the weekend’s fourth round trip to Pittodrie.
He said: “These games don’t come around very often so you have to cherish them.
“Hopefully the boys can go out and play well but also enjoy it, don’t let nerves take over.
“That’s what I’m going to do anyway, take it all in and enjoy it and see what happens.
“The cup games gets your excited every year. Playing the same teams in your league gets monotonous.
“We’ve got a young squad so it will be good for them to taste that atmosphere.”
Family
Hutton has not given up on returning to the full-time scene, but having laid foundations for his family he knows finances will dictate whether it is feasible in the future.
He added: “At the start when you move from full-time to part-time it does take a wee bit of getting used to, mentally – realising football will not be your number one thing for the time being.
“I’ve got a job and work on the railway now and football is there as well.
“Two years ago I had the chance to go to Inverness full-time but at the time it was not the best for me and my family, I’ve got two kids.
“I’m nearly 29 now so the full-time thing is getting away from me, I’ll keep playing well and come the end end of the season we’ll see what happens. If I get a surprise offer from someone we’ll see what happens.”
