RailHawks make 'Scottish Connection'

CARY -- The Scottish accent has gotten a wee bit more pronounced at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The Carolina RailHawks signed Scottish Premier League forward Allan Russell last week, making the Glasgow native the fourth Scot on the team, including coach Martin Rennie.

After making his RailHawks debut in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos, Russell will take the field again tonight as Carolina (6-4-6, 24 points) faces the first-place Vancouver Whitecaps (8-3-9, 33 points).

The RailHawks' Scottish makeover began last year, when they hired Rennie, defender Paul Ritchie and defender Greg Shields. All three came from different areas of the country - Thurso, Kirkcaldy and Falkirk, respectively - but they share the same heritage and reasons for coming.

"It's a great place for all of us, and it's great for Scottish people to be coming over to America," said Shields, who played for Scotland's Dunferemline Athletic club from 2004 to 2009. "I played a long time in the UK and felt like I needed a change, and coming here, I was really impressed with what I saw, and I've really enjoyed it. It's definitely different from what I'm used to, but it's been really great."

Ritchie, who has since been hired as an assistant coach for the RailHawks following a career-ending knee injury in April 2009, said he first came to Cary because of the great facility and people.

"Coming to the States is becoming more and more common, and it's a different thing now because players are financially in a state where they can't demand the salaries they could have demanded four or five years ago," Ritchie said.

"Before, coming to America was something like finishing your career at 34 or 35, but now, a lot of Scottish players at a good age, like Allan, who's 29, want to come to play in the United States and MLS, and we're getting good talent from Scotland."

The location of the RailHawks' franchise and its so-called "Scottish Connection" appears to be drawing interest from more players in Scotland, Russell said.

"All the guys in the dressing room are nice guys, and Greg has been here longer than me, so he came out and advised me on things from off the top, and he has family so he had a lot of ideas about how to deal with being away, too," said Russell, the Scottish Football League Second Division Player of the Year in 2008. "I've never played against Paul or even Greg, but Scottish people tend to look after each other. The guys from back home are good that way."

As for what the four Scots do in their free time to celebrate their heritage, Rennie said not much.

"We like hanging out, and we obviously have similar backgrounds and cultures, but we don't really do anything special," he said. "We have two great Scottish players, but we don't intentionally go out to find them because they're Scottish."