"The sweetest thing ever": The 'cute' gestures that have given Sheffield Wednesday's Liam Palmer cult hero status in Scotland

The Sheffield Wednesday right-back, who collected his fifth cap in the win, was pictured placing his tracksuit top over the shoulders of a freezing young mascot ahead of the national anthems.

The photo comes after a video of him tying the laces of another mascot ahead of their 2-1 win in Cyprus on Saturday went viral on social media.

And the gestures have not gone unnoticed.

One Twitter user said: “Give that man a medal, different class tonight, starting to merit his place in that team.”

Life hasn’t always been so rosy in a Scotland shirt for Palmer. He was thrown into his debut away at Kazahstan in March and was one of the scapegoats in a humiliating 3-0 defeat described in the national press as Scotland’s worst performance ever.

“This is actually the sweetest thing ever”, said another supporter. Another said: “The man is a gem!”

Palmer, 28, missed a round of international fixtures in September to attend the birth of his third child. He recently explained that he is trying to ensure his children follo in his footsteps to become Wednesday die-hards.

“We have got two boys and a girl,” he told The Athletic. “The oldest is five, so he is just starting to get his head around what I do.

“He loves coming to games and going on the pitch after. One of the main reasons we had children early is so they could see my career and be part of what I do. He’s just starting to understand why I go away and why I am not always back the same night if we have got an away game.

“He’s got all the Owls kits that have been out since he was born. The only other kit he has is a Liverpool kit from his granddad — we’ve got that one stashed in the bottom of the drawer at the moment! The Wednesday ones are piled up on top, of course.”