SCOTTISH Tory leader and footie linesman Douglas Ross has told how club managers joke with him that they vote for his party.
He revealed Premiership gaffers claim to back him politically in a tongue-in-cheek way to get “a wee edge” in matches.
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Asked in an interview with The Scottish Sun if any managers give him grief, Mr Ross said: “Interestingly no. But many tell me that they are staunch Conservative voters which I can only assume is they are trying to influence me.
“Given the vast majority say that, I can assure your readers that it doesn’t influence me in any way.
“But they are trying to get a wee edge at every opportunity.”
Quizzed on the most fearsome team bosses, he joked he would pick “animated” interim Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock since he won’t “be around next season so it’s probably not going to impact me”.
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He also said that VAR had improved Scottish football because the “vast majority of errors that referees make as human beings are corrected”.
Mr Ross added: “If we can minimise the number of mistakes, then it must be a good thing.”
He faced attacks from political rivals after missing a 2017 Commons vote to run the line at a Champions League match in Barcelona.
The Moray MP, also an MSP, hopes to grow the flagging Tory fanbase as his party conference starts in Aberdeen today and a General Election is expected later this year.
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He insisted the Scottish Tories are still in General Election contention, despite latest polls putting them between seven and 11 points down on their 2019 vote share of 25 per cent.
He claimed they could defy the polls and have a “good” result.
Mr Ross said: “Across Scotland many constituencies are a straight fight between the Scottish Tories and the SNP. People want to send a message to the nationalists.
“They’re fed up hearing this constitutional battle continue a decade on from the referendum, and they want the focus on their priorities.”
He told how he will set out his stall for the coming months with his party’s “five priorities” — “Repair the Roads, End Long NHS Waits, Restore our Schools, Make Scotland Safer and Cut your Tax”.
Meanwhile Rishi Sunak has insisted the Tories are the only party who will defend 200,000 North Sea jobs.
The Prime Minister yesterday said: “I will continue to back the industry.
“Only the Conservatives can be trusted to protect Scottish jobs.”
