WOKING FC’s steadfast defender Scott Cuthbert has high hopes for the rest of the season and is relishing the challenge of playing in the Vanarama National League.

Cuthbert – 35, a vastly experienced footballer, joined Woking in the summer from EFL League Two outfit Stevenage and has settled in quickly.

“I’m really enjoying it. It’s a great bunch of lads, a really really good set up and we’ve had some fantastic results at home,” he told the News & Mail.

“We’re disappointed with a few results we’ve had away, but I think the foundations are there for a really successful team and I fully believe that come the end of the season we’ll be up there challenging.”

Cuthbert, who was born in Alexandria, a town some 15 miles from Glasgow, grew up dreaming of becoming a footballer.

“When you are a young boy playing football, you always dream of playing professionally. I was just fortunate that I got picked up at a young age and played at a good level all the way through.”

He was 10-years-old and playing as a striker for his local team when his talent was spotted.

“I got invited to a local get-together for all the kids in that area of my age and then from there they were making a Celtic Football Club under-11’s side and sixteen of us were chosen from all the different areas of Scotland to play for Celtic.”

Cuthbert, who joined the “Bhoys” in 1999, would go on to spend 10 years with the Scottish giants but despite being at one of the largest clubs in Europe he believes that there is a lot more pressure on younger players today.

“I think there is a lot more pressure on players nowadays. I have watched the TV documentaries and you see the amount of pressure put on them not just from the coaches but from the parents.

“I certainly, at that age, was never under any pressure. It’s important at that age that you enjoy playing football. It gets serious when you turn professional but when you are between 11-15 years old the first thing should be enjoyment, that’s for sure.”

One of the highlights of Cuthbert’s early career was captaining Scotland’s U-19’s as they made history and reached the final of the European Championships held in Poland in 2006.

In qualifying for the tournament Cuthbert and his young side knocked out a France team which included Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and under the guidance of legendary footballer Archie Gemmill only narrowly lost in the final 2-1 to a Spain team which featured future superstars Juan Mata and Barcelona legend Gerald Pique.

“Archie [Gemmill] was brilliant. He was our manager and Tommy Wilson was our coach. He’s obviously been there and done it at the highest level, so it was great to have a Scottish legend in charge of the group.”

Cuthbert said it was fantastic to play against some of the best players in the world and on playing against Spain in the final he said: “They were just on another level – even at that age. You heard a lot of people talking about how good they were and how highly they were thought of at that level. Two months after they played us they were playing for their clubs in the Champions League. It was great to test yourself against these types of players.”

So now, as he approaches his 500th league game, what does he think makes a good defender.

“It’s a willingness to defend and keep clean sheets and it’s important to be brave and put your head in where other people won’t and to get the blocks.

“That just comes with the territory in these divisions and if you’re not willing to do that as a defender I don’t think you’ll be too successful.

“As you get older, and you get a bit more knowledge, you can start communicating that bit better and if you can organise people about you well enough then it makes your life easier.”

What advice would he give to players at the beginning of their career?

“When you step up to the first team, especially now, there is such a spotlight on them in terms of social media,” he said.

“Everyone’s got a say and everyone’s got an opinion and that’s what changed from when I was a young boy.

“So I suppose the advice I would give is just to ignore the opinions of people who aren’t involved in the club and focus on your teammates’ opinions and your coaches’ opinions and the information they’re giving you and that should stand you in good stead.”