A FORMER Leicester City player from Port Glasgow is celebrating his old club’s remarkable English Premiership title win – especially because it means he finally got one over old rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Hugh McIlmoyle started his professional career with the Foxes and in his debut season with the senior side in 1961 he went on to play in the FA Cup final at Wembley against Spurs.

Unfortunately for the promising teenage striker, the London club won the match 2-0.

But 55 years later Hugh, now 76, savoured some revenge as Leicester’s title rivals effectively handed the Foxes an historic first Premier League crown after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea on Monday.

Hugh, who grew up in Port Glasgow and also had spells with Middlesbrough, Wolves and Morton during a glittering career, was one of the many millions watching on TV – but he had extra reason to celebrate.

In an exclusive interview with the Tele, Hugh said: “It was ironic that it happened on Monday night with Tottenham.

“When Spurs went two-nothing up I thought ‘oh good heavens, we’ll need to wait until next Saturday’.

“Leicester was my first professional club so it’s always been close to my heart and when I go down to Leicester – I’ve got family down there – I tend to go to a match and see how they’re getting on.

“It’s a good thing for football as a whole because you’re sick of hearing how the top four clubs spent £260m or something like that and with Leicester it’s something like just under £20m they spent, which is nothing compared to other clubs in the Premiership. 

“But it was nerve-racking. I’m glad it happened on Monday night because my finger nails were getting lower and lower!

“People say to me it’s because they’ve got a good manager but I say they’ve all got good managers.

“The thing is you need a good manager, a good chairman, a good owner and good players – that’s the only way you’ll get winning.”

Hugh made a dream start for Leicester against West Ham United in April ‘61 by scoring on his debut against a team that included a certain young Geoff Hurst.

He netted four goals in seven matches in the run-up to the cup final.

But his time at Leicester was cut short and the following season he moved to Rotherham United followed by the first of three spells at Carlisle United, where there is a statue of the Port man and club legend.

Hugh, who still has family in the Port and is a regular visitor back home and to Cappielow, never envisaged a career in football.

He was brought up in Highholm Street and went to Jean Street School – just yards from his front door – then Port Glasgow High before leaving to work in the Greenock shipyards at the age of 15.

Hugh, who now lives in Carlisle with wife Rosalyne, finished his footballing career at Morton in ‘76 but he struck up another link with Leicester afterwards, spending over 20 years working at the Walkers crisps HQ.

He said: “I’ve got a soft spot for Leicester because I’d just come down from Port Glasgow Rovers and didn’t know anything.

“Unfortunately when you finished football back then you had to go and get a job, not like nowadays.

“It was good at Walkers, I worked there for about 25 years.

“You get a lot of crisps – when you first start you eat packet after packet and then after about two or three weeks you’re sick of seeing them!”