As the Open Goal boys prepare to light up the SSE Hydro with their wacky antics, Kevin Kyle has told all about the moment he met Si Ferry and Paul Slane.

The former Rangers striker and Ferry had a chance meeting while taking their kids to a Clyde coaching day, which eventually led to a social media message to be a guest on the show initially. What followed was a natural progression thanks to the chemistry and friendship the pair struck up.

How madcap Slane factored into the equation? "My kids a few years back went to a Clyde FC training camp at Stepps and I think Simon lives in that area and his kids were there, too," Kyle said. "I didn't know him but I knew of him and I saw him and gave a wee wave. The next day I had a message on Facebook, 'Alright big boy' - you know the way he talks - 'Do you want to come on and do an interview about your career?' A few weeks later I was at Hampden for that and it was quite popular.

"Then he asked about the podcast. I did that and it went down quite well. He asked about the next week and I turned up to do a podcast at Hampden and I think there was an A-licence thing on, so there was a lot of ex-footballers there like Barry Robson and Mark Burchill. Then this guy turned up in a crazy leather jacket and I was like, 'Who is this guy?' Si says, 'This is Paul Slane, he's doing the podcast with us today'. We went to do it and this guy absolutely blew me away with his enthusiasm, the way he told a story and the nonsense that comes out his mouth.

"Away from that he was a really sound, nice guy, and that's the part people don't see. We clicked and ever since then it's snowballed and it works. And I haven't really seen any negative comments, I think people like that we're honest and we have got good insight into the world of football. But we know how to joke with it and we don't take things too seriously. I'm glad I'm on the Open Goal roller coaster."

The lads' Hydro ambitions have had to be pushed back once or twice, now, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, an issue which has frustrated fans as well as the podcasters themselves. But it has given Kyle a bit of time to compose himself and prepare for what he expects to be a wild night on January 29, 2021.

Playing football in front of 60,000 supporters never fazed the ex-Gers, Hearts and Sunderland frontman. Sitting with a microphone in hand, chatting and giving opinions on what will likely be polarising topics, in front of a sell-out crowd? That is a bit tougher to get ready for.

However, as is the case with a lot of the podcast episodes so far on the hugely popular YouTube show, Kyle hopes only to have to chime in when called upon. He's happy giving Slane and Ferry the ball to run away with. And he's ready to be entertained himself. "I'm excited but, at the same time, nervous because when you play football you've got 10 teammates to back you up," he added. "I've got Si and Slaney and who knows what they're going to do? Si is probably thinking, 'I've got to keep these two entertained', while Slaney will be thinking, 'I don't even need these two'. I don't know how the Hydro will go but the way we'd planned it out, it had potential to be really good.

"It's a bit like a U2 gig, everyone knows Bono is going to sing the same songs. They know they'd hear, 'Where do you p*** fae', and me saying, 'Absolutely class'. That's what people are wanting to see, you want a bit of craziness. The Hydro started as a joke, saying we'd sell it out and we used to dream about even a wee venue.

"We had so many things this year to do but the Hydro was the big one. And to sell it out is bonkers. We hoped for 6,000 or so in the first few months and the next 7,000 in the next few months. But to sell it out in a day and have people requesting a second date, oh my goodness."