Imps to visit Burnley next. Burnley have one Scot and one Scotland international and they are two different people!

The draw for round five of the FA Cup was made last night and remarkably and uniquely there are two non-league teams in the last 16 of the competition. They are Sutton United and my current team on The Road to Wembley from Scotland – Lincoln City. The Imps were hoping for one of the mega clubs away from home and hence they have mixed feelings about being drawn away at Burnley.

The impressive Turf Moor will be full on the 18th Feb when Lincoln City are in town

Burnley are a Premier League side and they will provide a stern test for the gallant Imps. Lincoln City have never been beyond the last 16 of the FA Cup. The last time they reached stage of the competition was in 1902 when they beat Newton Heath along the way. Newton Heath were later to change their name to Manchester United. The fifth round match will take place on the weekend of the 18^th of February and there is a strong possibility that the game will be shown live on television. Burnley’s Turf Moor home holds just over 21000 spectators and with both sides eyeing a historic appearance in the quarter finals of the FA Cup it is likely that the stadium will be full and once again there will be a scramble for tickets. I will be scouring the internet in the coming days to try to secure a brief.

Regular readers will know that for each match I look for a link between the forthcoming fixture on 'The Road' and Bonny Scotland. Lincoln City have a rich Scots heritage but no kilt swirlers in their current squad. A quick check on Burnley after the draw last night shows that at this present time they have an Englishman who is a Scottish Internationalist and a proud Scotsman who plays for Canada!

George Boyd was as surprised as anyone when he was called up to the Scotland B squad in 2009 while playing for Peterborough. The midfielder from Chatham in Kent was previously capped several times by England for their semi-professional international team when playing for Stevenage. When Boyd reported for duty it was the first time had set foot in Scotland.

Southerner Boyd surprised but happy to play for his grandfather's country

It was four years later when he was called up to the full squad by Gordon Strachan and he made his debut against Serbia in Novi Sad in 2013. To date he has won two Scotland caps. He qualifies to play for the national team because his grandfather, who has lived most of his life in London, is from Motherwell. As he is a current Premier League player and he is still only 31 there is every chance that he will go on to win further caps.

Boyd’s team mate and colleague in the Burnley engine room is Scott Arfield. Arfield, the playing for Falkirk, was also called up to the same Scotland B squad in 2009 where he teamed up with Boyd for the first time. Prior to his elevation to the B team Arfield had played an incredible 17 times for the Scotland Under 21 team.

Scott Arfield proud to play for Scotland U-21s now a Canada international

The midfielder from West Lothian was clearly very proud to represent the county of his birth. Given that Scotland are not blessed with loads of talented footballer playing in the English Premier League it is surprising that he was never given the opportunity to win a full international cap for Scotland. Clearly frustrated at being overlooked by Gordon Strachan (perhaps if he had been English he would have had more of a chance) in February 2016 he filed the paperwork to FIFA to play for Canada. He qualifies because his father was born in Toronto. Since making the one-off permanent change he has won 6 caps for Canada. Interestingly, it has just been announced that Scotland will play a friendly against Canada on March the 22^nd in Edinburgh when Scotsman Arfield could play against a Scotland side featuring Englishman George Boyd. It’s a funny old game.

Over the next two weeks I will be exploring, and reporting on, the historical influence of the Scots at Turf Moor but football rolls on and tonight both Lincoln City and Burnley have important league fixtures. After the heady aroma of the FA Cup 4^th round the Imps will have the stench of the Vanarama National League in their nostrils as they head to the West Midlands for a vital fixture against Solihull Moors. Also this evening the Clarets from Burley are in action when they host the Premier League Champions Leicester City at Turf Moor. Will the Clarets be intoxicating tonight and will the Imps trample on the Moors? Come back here later in the week to find out … and .. keep reading!