LINKS Park in Montrose has a capacity of just 3,292 but was barely one-eighth full.

A crowd of 433 watched ten-man Livingston win there in October 2009 – and some of those had no doubt already drifted away when a young substitute netted the late third for the visitors.

Everyone has got to start somewhere and even in such empty surroundings a 17-year-old Marc McNulty announced his arrival in senior football in style, netting with his first touch within a minute of coming on.

He also completed a Bradford City complexion to the scoresheet by adding to the other goals from Andy Halliday and Rafa De Vita.

But the professional big time in front of big crowds must have seemed a world away.

That is why, seven years on, the on-loan striker takes nothing for granted as he prepares for his Valley Parade home debut. McNulty remembers where he has come from.

He said: “I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind me how lucky I am to be in this situation.

“I remember playing games in the third division in Scotland on a Tuesday night and it felt there was only 100 fans there.

“But I’ve worked myself up to playing in front of up to 20,000 and that’s something I’m really grateful for.

“I feel privileged to play for Sheffield United, Portsmouth and now Bradford – probably three of the biggest clubs in Leagues One and Two without a doubt.

“Playing in front of those crowds is a big thing to me and all players should strive for that. I’m lucky enough to do that and looking forward to seeing it at Valley Parade.”

That is why he knocked back a couple of rival offers to link up with the Bantams, “another massive club with a brilliant fan-base.”

Going back out on loan does not worry McNulty, who enjoyed a successful stint at Pompey last season.

The south coast club were keen to sign him in the summer but new Blades boss Chris Wilder wanted to see if he could force his way into the plans at Bramall Lane. McNulty soon realised that would not be the case and did not intend to spend the final year of his contract in Billy Sharp’s shadow.

“The new manager was honest enough to tell me that Billy was obviously captain and the first name on the team sheet. I didn’t have an argument for that.

“I said I’d wait to get my chance but unfortunately I don’t think I got enough time on the park.

“It was very limited and there were a few games at the start when I never got on.

“I’d played every game at Portsmouth for a number of months and wanted to do that again.

“I came back confident and ready to do well, scoring goals like last season. But that wasn’t going to be the case.

“That’s the way football is. Billy was captain so it was always going to be tough for me to get in the team no matter how he played.

“But he’s been doing well so I had to put my hand up and look elsewhere and that’s what has happened.”

Sheffield United have a January recall clause in the season-long deal but it seems unlikely that would be triggered.

That is out of McNulty’s hands and not his concern for now. He just wanted to ensure he was not left in limbo by the end of the emergency loan system.

He added: “It was different last season because I didn’t play for the first few months but then went to Portsmouth in November.

“There wasn’t any panic so you could be more patient.

“But the new rules mean you can’t be loaned after August. It makes it difficult because a lot of things in the (transfer) window are done last minute.

“Clubs are holding off to sell players and others are worried in case they pick up one or two injuries.

“There’s a massive knock-on effect. A club will lose a player so they will take another and it moves on from that.

“I knew the clock was ticking so had to get something done pretty much straight away.

“It was important for me to come to a club where I felt wanted – and the manager and head of recruitment Greg (Abbott) made me feel like that as soon as I had a chat with them.

“I’d never come across Stuart McCall or Kenny Black before when I played in Scotland but I knew a few lads who worked with them and they spoke very highly.”