On his 25th birthday, Andy Irving on his unconventional route to West Ham United, riding the crest of a wave in Claret and Blue and his burning desire to succeed with the Hammers...
It’s said you learn more from the tough times than the good, and Andy Irving experienced this very, very early in his career.
Dealing with adversity and triumphing against the odds are two of the great hallmarks of Irving’s footballing life to date.
From his very first days in the sport, the Edinburgh-born midfielder has repeatedly had to prove people wrong, and frequently overcome barriers and hurdles in his path.
At Tynecastle with Heart of Midlothian, they called him the 'Portobello Pirlo'. The reference point – a high school and seaside Edinburgh suburb rather than a market in London – spoke to Irving’s precocious talent.
He was sent out on loan to Berwick Rangers of Scottish League Two over the first half of the 2017/18 season, then spent the first half of the next campaign at Falkirk in the Scottish Championship, two divisions higher, making his debut as a 17-year-old for Hearts in between.
In the summer of 2021, his exit from Hearts was met with shrugs after the club were unwilling to give their boyhood supporter the feeling of self-assurance, and that left him feeling unwanted.
This felt unsatisfactory, and there were fears Irving’s promising career may wilt before it had been given a chance to grow.
Rather than allow his dream to fade away, Irving took a leap of faith that saw him shine first in the unlikely colours of Türkgücü München in Germany’s third tier.
Swapping Edinburgh for Munich was a sign of early maturity, as he chose to take himself out of his comfort zone and learn about the rigours of football abroad. Akin to a teenage student packing their bags and moving out, he left behind the people and surroundings he had known his whole life to live with strangers (in this case, teammates assigned by Türkgücü München).
He was in new surroundings, but he'd settled in quickly until disaster struck ten months later when his new club became embroiled in financial complications, filed for bankruptcy and withdrew from the 3. Liga in March 2022.
Irving returned home and trained alone. Many 21-year-olds would have been forgiven for wanting to stay there, but our No39 has never been content just to go through the motions, so when SK Austria Klagenfurt offered him another opportunity, there was no hesitation. Again, he packed his bags, knuckled down and adapted quickly to new surroundings far from home.
He had only spent one season in the Austrian top-flight when he began to catch the eye of West Ham. It was enough to convince David Moyes to sign Irving, who played with grace and a left-footed passing range.
After he remained with Klagenfurt on loan for a second season, scoring ten goals and providing five assists across 30 league appearances, Irving reported back for pre-season at Rush Green as a virtual unknown to the Claret and Blue Army, and it was the beginning of a new start for the Scot, which has taken him from Portobello to the Premier League, via 3. Liga and the Austrian Bundesliga.
Fast forward to April 2025, and Irving has been rewarded for his patience and ability but, above all else, for his professionalism and gone from near-obscurity to cult hero status.
Yet his senior debut might have been delayed had things turned out differently in the summer, when West Ham fielded loan enquiries. He preferred to stay, an attitude with which the Club took no issue, and for which he and the Hammers have ultimately been rewarded with ten Premier League appearances and a maiden senior Scotland men's national team call-up.
For Irving, who hails from a long list of famous Portobello High School exports that includes former boxing world champion Ken Buchanan, he has certainly proven he isn’t punching above his weight in the Premier League...
Heart of Midlothian is my boyhood club. It was a special and surreal feeling to be playing in their Academy.
It was pretty ingrained in me early on that Hearts were my team, as literally my whole family on both sides are Hearts fans.
I joined Hearts when I was eight after being scouted at my local side, Newcraighall Leith Victoria. I remember my Dad called me on the day of my eighth birthday to say that I’d been asked to train with them the following week. I just loved it from that point onwards and literally never looked back.
It’s all I ever dreamed about as a youngster, and if I could have chosen to play for a team, it would have been Hearts.
My time at Hearts’ Academy shaped me into the person I am.
I was 14 when I played my first game for Hearts U20s against Celtic. It gave me the belief that I was highly-rated by the people in charge, and it definitely kicked me on, and that's really when I started to believe and gave it everything on and off the pitch.
It was a great place to grow up and a brilliant Academy to come through. My upbringing at Tynecastle Park definitely shaped me into the person I am today.
I had coaches through my journey who helped me perfectly with the stage that I was at. Liam Fox was a brilliant coach, made me love football and always demanded more. I had Andy Kirk as well, who was a bit of a perfectionist, and it kind of drove you on.
My Dad was definitely my biggest inspiration, though. He played for Cowdenbeath, Edinburgh City and Civil Service Strollers. He was a really good player, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.
My Hearts debut was a dream come true.
Making my first-team debut at 17 was just an amazing feeling and something that I look back on that I'm really proud of. We won 3-0 at Hamilton Academical, and I got an assist. That was a night that I think everything paid off for my whole family.
Craig Levein was brilliant. He was the Director of Football at Hearts at the time and took a massive interest in the Academy. When he was manager, he was brilliant to work under and trusted us as young players coming through and gave us that belief and that trust to play.
I scored my first goal in front of all my family at Tynecastle Park against Dundee United and then got sent-off in the same game, which was quite incredible. We enjoyed a brilliant 2020/21 season, winning most weeks, and were promoted back to the Scottish Premiership. We were also narrowly beaten on penalties by Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final.
I think the fans were keen for me to stay and wanted me to stay, as I was a home-grown player and was someone that had represented what Hearts is to the fans, so it was disappointing the way it ended. The biggest thing for me was that I was going to continue my development and play, and the conversations I had with the manager and the Sporting Director weren't really in line with that.
I probably expected to go somewhere better than Türkgücü München, which was a bit naive of me.
Some people would probably say it was a bit of a risk, and despite what happened, I don't regret it at all.
It was daunting moving away from home during the COVID-19 pandemic because everything was completely new, and Munich's a massive place.
I had settled pretty quickly at Türkgücü München before it ended ten months later in a way that I could never have imagined it going at the start when it became apparent that the club was filing for insolvency and that that was going to be the end.
There's no getting away from it – it was a tough time. I felt like, how can this be happening? It was something else that tested me in my career, but it helped me grow and learn, and I look back on it still with great memories.
There was no hesitation to join SK Austria Klagenfurt.
I went to train with Karlsruher and Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga, but it was at Austria Klagenfurt where I felt at home, and the whole new experience, the football and the culture were something I was ready to embrace, and it turned out to be a life-changing decision.
I didn’t want to go back to home comforts. I remember I was on the plane and said to myself, ‘This is it, whatever happens, whatever the situation, it’s going to work, and you're going to make it work’.
I think they developed me a lot, and I suppose you could say a year later I fulfilled that earlier potential. For the club's ambitions, we probably overachieved getting into the top six both years, and that was mainly down to the camaraderie and spirit we had as a team.
It couldn’t have been a better experience, and I’m lucky to have made some lifelong friends.
It was a no-brainer to join West Ham United.
I'd had a good first season at Austria Klagenfurt, but I didn’t expect a club like West Ham to come calling.
It was a no-brainer to come to a club the size of West Ham. And from that point on, when I signed, it was probably in the back of my head that I wanted to come here and actually be a part of the squad. That was always my aim.
At the beginning, the conversations were to come in, and I’d be given the opportunity and show what I could do.
It was surreal arriving at Rush Green for pre-season, but I got the opportunities to play, to train and to adapt to the level, and I got to play in all the pre-season games and show what I could do.
I was just loving the experience of learning off players that have played at this level for a long time and are top footballers.
Pre-season gave me the confidence that I belonged at West Ham. You're competing with top players every day. I would like to think that they’ve helped me along the way as well and have demonstrated the demands of what it takes to play at this level in the Premier League. They've helped me, and it's made me become a better player for it for sure.
My Premier League debut was the culmination of a lifelong dream.
I'd had a really good week in training, and when it came to the weekend, the result hadn't obviously gone the way that we'd wanted it to go, and I remember just getting the call up for warming up and saying that I was coming on to play my first game.
It’s a moment you work your whole life for. It was a brilliant moment, and the hard work and the belief that I'd put into myself had paid off at that point, and looking back after the game, the feeling of it was fantastic, and it made me just hungry for more and to keep playing and to keep pushing for further appearances.
The first senior call-up for Scotland was special.
It’s something that every kid dreams of. To play for your country is the highest honour, and to go there having been through all the age groups. Again, it made me hungry for more. Next time I go, I want to get some playing time because that's ultimately the dream.
I've shown my quality that I have and that I can adapt and play at this level.
I think I’ve taken my chances when they’ve arrived.
Any time that I've started or come onto the pitch, I've shown the quality that I have and that I can adapt and play at this level.
I think over this season I've really improved and really kicked on, and I think I just want to keep pushing for as many opportunities as I can get, and when I get the opportunities, it's about doing well and taking them.
As a football player, technically with the ball, I believe I have the level to play in the Premier League, but the physical side and the speed of the game are areas I want to improve on in the months ahead.
It’s been a whirlwind few years!
There are times I sit back and think about my career. I think the position that I'm in now compared to the position that I was in three years ago, even last year, is unbelievable, as I’m playing against the best clubs and players in the world at the moment. It’s definitely something that I'm really proud of.
I've experienced a lot of different things. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but I think my determination and love for football have ultimately got me to where I am now, and hopefully it will take me a lot further.
I feel at home at West Ham United.
I definitely feel at home. The people have been fantastic, and everyone makes you feel so welcome.
The fans are brilliant. Any time I've had an interaction with them, they've always been really positive and always really friendly, and it's easy to see that they love their club and are very passionate fans. I just love the Club, and that's great for us as players, having that support.
The way I was serenaded with songs at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea was very special and a moment which I won’t forget in a long time.
