ONE of Scottish football greatest rivalries will be played out at youth level on Sunday – with a Dunbar father and son in opposite dug-outs.

In the green corner, East Lothian councillor Paul McLennan will lead out the Hibs under-14 side; while his son Scott will take charge of the Hearts under-14s.

The two sides meet at East Mains, near Ormiston, Hibs’ training ground.

Former East Lothian Council leader Paul, who has been with the Easter Road club for almost five years and works as an academy coach, was looking forward to the big match and said: “The thing is, it is a really good standard when you watch them play.

“There are a lot of good players coming through. I know both teams will play football in the right way and anybody can come and watch the game at East Mains.” It’s the first time the father and son have come up against each other in a game.

Dunbar and East Linton SNP councillor Paul, a former season ticket holder at Easter Road, admitted they regularly discussed football but this weekend’s game was yet to be brought up.

Speaking on Monday afternoon, he said: “There has not been a huge amount of chat yet. We usually speak on a Sunday and see how each other has got on.

“We play Newcastle [on Tuesday] and he is coming along to try to watch us.

“We will have a wee chat after that; we try to help each other.

“I will be driving him up to the game on Sunday morning. Then, he will go into his changing room and I will go into my changing room.” Scott has already garnered several years of coaching experience, despite only being 21.

The Stirling University student spent two years coaching the under-13s at Alloa Athletic and was also first team opposition scout at Falkirk.

Since then, he has spent time coaching in Pennsylvania, as part of a nine-week training camp, and was also a youth coach at Dundee United.

He linked up with the Tynecastle club last September and said of his dad: “We [Scott and Paul] talk about football all the time.

“We always talk about the games we are playing in and the performances of our teams and general chat about Scottish football, which is changing.” But despite the match being a derby, Scott insisted the result was secondary to the development of the players.

“If anything, you have to try to play it down,” he explained.

“The players see it as a derby and some of them go to school together but you want to try to develop the players.

“At the end of the day, five years down the line, nobody remembers the result at this level. Some teams win a lot of games at this level and it might mean some players make it and some don’t.

“You have got to think about the long-term development of the players.” Former Dunbar Grammar School pupil Scott, a Celtic fan, explained he would likely sit down and talk to his dad after the game before heading back to Stirling University for a five-a-side game.

He added: “It’s all fun and games when it comes to any game but you just go in and be as professional as you can.

“You do the best job for your players and there is good banter about it in the house but as soon as the tracksuit goes on you are representing the club and you are an ambassador for the club.”