LEWIS MCCANN has said that he never thought he'd reach the milestone of 150 games for Athletic when he joined as a "wee scrawny kid".
The 23-year-old reached the landmark in the Fife derby against Raith Rovers, an achievement he is "very proud of", and one which he thinks has been helped by the sporting exploits of his siblings.
McCann, who signed for Dunfermline at the age of 16, having progressed through the Fife Elite Football Academy, is one of three brothers who are all professionals in their chosen sport.
The eldest, Ross, is a rugby union player who made his Scotland debut in the summer, having also been picked in the Six Nations squad earlier this year, and who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain at rugby sevens, including at Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
Middle sibling, Ali, is currently starring for EFL (English Football League) Championship side, Preston North End, whom he joined from St Johnstone, and is a full international with Northern Ireland, where the trio's father is from.
"It’s one of those things where I’m naturally a competitive person," McCann said.
"So, seeing my oldest brother being a professional rugby player, and then the second-oldest be a professional football player, I was thinking, 'this is what I want to do, I want to do what they do'.
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"They were obviously helpful, especially when I wasn’t having the best days. There were some days when you think, ‘is it actually worth it?’ But they would be like, ‘c’mon mate, it actually is’.
"It’s good to have those sorts of people around you, because they not only make you want to be better, but, also, if you are doing well, they will bring you back down to Earth - in the nicest way possible, obviously!
"Ross is a tough one to get up to, because he’s got some resumé now. He’s played for Scotland sevens, in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and he’s now a full international. He’s got a long list. He’s winning on the accolades.
"Ali’s not far behind - and then me. But I’ll get there."
When asked if he thought he would go on and reach 150 appearances for Dunfermline, McCann replied: "No!
"It's weird to think this is my seventh season. If you had said that would happen when I signed at 16, I would have thought, ‘that’s a good shift!’.
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"I knew I was close, but I wasn’t even aware that was the game it was going to happen in. Obviously it’s a good way to tick it off. I just wish I could have got a goal or something to go along with it, but I’m happy we won the game.
"On my side, I feel like I’ve just gone about my business. I’ve not really thought about how many games I’ve played.
"It is a good achievement and I’m very proud of it, and I’ve hopefully still got a lot of years left in me.
"It’s something I didn’t think would happen, but it has happened."
Looking back on what his aims were when he first arrived at East End as a teenager, McCann, who cited winning League One in 2023 as his biggest highlight so far, reflected: "You come in and you see some of the first-team boys around you, and then, if you go and look at photos of me when I was 16, I was just the wee scrawny kid.
"I was tall but I was skinny, and then you think these other players are massive and everything, so, you’re just thinking of ways of how you can build yourself into the first-team.
"It did take me time to establish myself as a first-team player, but I was just thinking, ‘this is what I want to do’, and I knew if I wanted to make something out of it, I had to put in the work."
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