He has become an overnight sensation at Caley Thistle but Daniel MacKay could find himself having a watching brief tonight as manager John Robertson seeks to protect the teenager.
The Millburn Academy pupil, currently preparing to sit six Highers in May, could hardly have hoped for a better 24 hours.
Having netted a dream opener in Friday night’s schoolboy international victory over England in York, the following day he sprang from the McDiarmid Park bench to set up the Irn-Bru Cup final winner for Carl Tremarco.
The young winger is the talk of the city but manager Robertson is considering resting him completely tonight against Dundee United, if numbers allow.
The former Hearts striker is respectful of the youngster’s desire to make the grade academically.
Robertson said: “We have to be patient with Daniel. What the fans don’t always understand is he is not a full-time player. He has important exams in May and needs to study.
“It is one of the more unusual problems I’ve had to deal with, but one I totally respect. He has worked so hard and we want him to get good results.
“Anything else he does for us this season is a complete bonus.”
It will be another year, three weeks and two days until MacKay can lawfully enter a public bar and buy a pint.
Quips about starring in an advert for a famous brand of Danish lager were always going to fly straight over the Inverness schoolboy’s head.
If Carlsberg did fairy-tale football experiences, though, 16-year-old Mac-Kay’s weekend with club and country would certainly fit the bill.
Amid the celebrations, Caley Thistle team-mates were supping winners’ champagne, but young MacKay advisedly stuck to the sponsors’ soft stuff.
For Robertson, the winger’s reaction to jokes about his dream weekend told a story in itself. Robertson said: “The name on everyone’s lips is young Daniel who, at this moment in time, is probably doing double maths.
“He is such a lovely lad. It was Roy of the Rovers’ stuff for him, but that’s the funny thing about it.
“The lads were kidding him on it was a ‘Carlsberg’ weekend for him – and he hadn’t a clue what they were talking about.
“We had to rephrase it, such is his naivety and youth, so we said it was a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ tale . . . and, again, I don’t think he knew who Roy Race was.
“It was a wonderful win for Scotland and then, obviously, to come on and provide the cross for Carl Tremarco’s winner is just brilliant for the lad.
“More importantly, we now have lots of our youth team thinking ‘that could be me in two or three years’ time’.
“That’s the pathway we want. Already we’ve had Cameron Harper, Jack Brown and Daniel in the first team – and there are plenty others.”