You can go to some unusual places in a conversation with Barney Stewart.
Our discussion starts with his goal-scoring adventures in the colours of the Heriot-Watt University team on days when one man and a dog felt like a bumper crowd.
It concludes with talk – however fanciful it may be – of him playing for Scotland against Brazil in the World Cup in Miami this summer.
By the time you shake hands with the engaging Falkirk forward, you are reminded that unusual and inspiring stories still exist in an increasingly homogenous football world. The diamonds which are found in the rough tend to sparkle more than others.
‘I guess some people could look at it and it can give them a bit of hope,’ he said.
‘There’s lots of different routes to football, but mine was just weirdly unique.’
Barney Stewart celebrates his hat-trick against Hibs in the Premiership in January
Falkirk striker Stewart is nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award
This story is no less extraordinary for its familiarity. Born in London to a Scottish father and a mother who studied in Aberdeen, Stewart scarcely got a sideways glance from senior clubs in his schooldays.
‘I wasn’t that serious about football to be honest,’ he explained. ‘I was just doing school as usual. I was playing different sports. It was never really that predominant in my life.’
His decision to move up to Edinburgh to study Sports and Exercise Science was sealed by family connections and the opportunity to become part of the university’s football scholarship programme.
Combining his studies with games for Herriot-Watt in the East of Scotland First Division was the point where talent belatedly met opportunity.
‘There’s a lot of unis in Scotland that don’t have scholarship programmes in place,’ Stewart said.
‘They just play football, but they don’t take it too seriously. But our manager took it really seriously. I was fortunate enough to be on a strict schedule, even though I was at university.
‘It would be training Monday, Tuesday, game Wednesday, training Thursday, game Saturday.
‘It’s five days a week, which is what I’m doing now anyway.
‘It was very full-on, but obviously we’re talking different levels.’
It was quickly evident that he was playing at one which was way below his ability.
Asked if he was scoring goals for fun, he smiled: ‘I wouldn’t stretch it to five or six, but I’d say probably averaging two to three a game.
‘In 35 games, I got 50 goals I think, which is all right.
Stewart celebrates a goal against Dundee United in this season’s Scottish Cup quarter-finals
‘But obviously, I’m playing people that are probably hungover from a Friday night. So, it was a little bit different. But the goals are still the same size, so it all counts.’
A man who’s always trusted his eye for a player more than any data soon identified one with enormous potential.
‘I think there was a couple of clubs interested at the time and I went in to see a few,’ Stewart explained.
‘I went into Falkirk and I instantly knew that that was sort of the best suited club for me.
‘I spoke to the gaffer, John McGlynn, and he was very welcoming.
‘Obviously, he didn’t give away too much about what his plans were for me or if I was going on loan or whatnot.
‘But he said he liked what he saw. So, I knew straight away just to sign with Falkirk.
‘Especially because they were top of the table, it always makes your decision easier. It was an incredible feeling, a little bit surreal at first.
‘It took me a good couple of months to realise that I was there, I’m not just some player that was going to get loaned out and stuff like that.
‘It was just surreal winning the Championship in the first season there, even though I hardly did any of the work!’
He remained in the second tier on loan with Dunfermline for the first half of this season before making his mark with 10 goals upon rejoining the Bairns in January. He’s long since left the imposter syndrome behind.
‘Yeah, I think that went towards the end of last season, especially when we won the league,’ he said.
‘The group of boys was so together, they just made you feel a part of it.’
Stewart in action for the Bairns against St Mirren last month
He’s never been allowed to forget the old habits which died hard when he first made the move from university football to the Championship.
‘The kit man at Falkirk will tell you that the first time I walked in, he asked for my kit,’ Stewart said.
‘I was like, are you sure? Do you want me to go away and wash it?
‘It was mental at first, but obviously you do get used to it. But I got a bit of a stick for that at first.’
His ties with Heriot-Watt have become frayed yet are not yet severed. If there’s a way for him to complete his degree while playing professionally, he’d like to find it.
‘I’ve been trying to hang in there, but it’s very difficult, especially with everything going on at the minute,’ he explained.
‘But I do need to have a meeting with uni just about plans and see basically what’s going on. ‘There are times when things won’t go so well and you might need to fall back on it.’
Despite no longer being on campus, he’s not become a stranger to the unique challenges and joys of university life.
‘Although I left the uni football behind, I’m still friends with all the same boys, still hanging about with the same people,’ he said.
Stewart has given huge credit to Falkirk boss John McGlynn in his development
‘Although the change in football was massive in terms of the jump, I kept my lifestyle outside of football very similar just so that the change didn’t feel too different.
‘My mates are just graduating. My flatmate, he’s my best pal, he’s away down south as he got a job, so I’ll be helping him pack his bags over the next few days.
‘The graduations all happen end of August start of September, so I’ll be heading along even though I won’t be graduating myself.’
Heaven knows what twists and turns Stewart’s adventure will have taken by then.
Having come so far, there are many who feel he can go further still. From university football to the World Cup in two years feels like the script from the fevered imagination of a comic book writer.
For many reasons, it remains highly unlikely. Yet the fact it’s even a discussion is wondrous enough.
‘I think it’s bonkers personally,’ said Stewart. ‘If some people want to put my name in the conversation, they can. It’s an honour to hear.
‘But I do think it’s personally out of view right now. We’ve still got four more games to play as well. We’ll see how those four games go.
‘There are so many good strikers in Scotland that also missed out the cut.
‘I was still buzzing when I got called up for the 21 squad. In my eyes, I think the first team is a little bit out of sight, but you never know in the future.’
What we do know in the here and now is that Stewart is a viable option for Steve Clarke. That fact alone should be celebrated.
‘Hopefully, my move might have given a couple of other boys opportunities that maybe people would actually come and look at that level,’ he offered.
