The 13-year-old from Muirkirk has been selected to represent Scotland under-14s at an invitational tournament in Holland when they will come up against the hosts, Czech Republic, and Turkey, with a squad of 20 being picked from an initial 200 players from all over the country.

They were put through their paces at a series of trial matches, played at Airdrie FC’s Excelsior Stadium, as well as Lesser Hampden, when Scottish Football Association(SFA) performance coaches made the crucial decision on the final 20, which included Robbie.

It has been a culmination of a young life dedicated to football which kicked-off when he signed for Cumnock Juniors youth team at just seven-years-old, and progressed to trials with Glasgow Rangers and St Mirren, where he now plays as his learning process gets more intense.

This has also involved him moving from regular education at Auchinleck Academy to an SFA Performance school at Grange Academy where he receives football coaching once a day, but his mum Kimberley says his feet remain firmly on the ground, as he never neglects his academic studies for the sport.

She said: “He is very committed with his diet, and other things, has done so well up to now and is looking at a possible career in football. When he was with Rangers he felt he wasn’t getting enough game time, so when St Mirren made him an offer, he accepted.

“The regional trials involved him playing six games at Lesser Hampden, then one at Airdrie — it was there that he was told he had made the team.” A spokeswoman for the SFA added: “The team will be playing together for the first time under our Talent ID scheme, and have been invited to the Dutch Friendly Tournament which starts on May 4, for five days. They are part of our performance department, run by ex-Manchester United youth academy director Brian McClair.”