Comment: Craig McManus' comeback is inspirational

A professional footballer who when he was off the pitch could not resist the temptation of the highs that alcohol and drugs can bring. How many times have we heard of the downward spiral that his life took when his addiction took over? It is a sorry tale that has befallen many of the nation’s favourite sporting sons over the years.

Where Craig’s life is different from many of those that have gone before him is the happy ending that has followed the despair of losing his job and home, and almost his life.

Today the 40-year-old is preparing to do something that few Scots have done, captain his country at a World Cup. What is even better is that Scotland are playing on home soil, in Glasgow, and have every chance of doing well in the Homeless World Cup tournament.

The fact that he is doing that after his life fell apart is testament to his strength of character. The way he has rebuilt his life and now works to help others is an inspiration. Craig and his teammates don’t need to win the cup to make us proud, but we’ll all be roaring you on just the same.

Best of the best

when it comes to great things to do in your spare time, few cities can rival everything Edinburgh has to offer.

Whether you love discovering cool cafes and bohemian bars, going to the cinema, theatre or gigs, or prefer simply to explore our wild open spaces there is something in the Capital to inspire you. That is why we have launched our new what’s on feature called Inspire Me to help pick out some of the best things you can do over the coming week.

We hope that you will enjoy our new weekly feature and that it gives you some inspiration for how to make the most of life in this wonderful city we call home.