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IAN CATHRO is the man who appears to have it all yet it’s still not enough.

Settled in one of Spain’s thriving cities, he has a job in arguably the world’s top league.

This season he can look forward to visiting the Nou Camp and the Bernabeu.

The Valencia No.2 will try to come up with tactical plans to stop Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as he plots a route to the Champions League.

That job is made slightly easier thanks to Valencia’s billionaire owner, Peter Lim, and a classy squad, enhanced by recent loan arrival Alvaro Negredo.

Sitting discussing all of this in a plush beach-side hotel on a sun-kissed afternoon you’d think he had it made.

And all of this at the age of just 28. What more could the Dundonian wish for? Quite a bit, as it turns out.

Cathro’s fascinating story from Dundee United and SFA coach to La Liga via a spell in Portugal with Rio Ave is like a fairytale.

But for the Scot the most important chapter has still to be written. Only then will he truly be satisfied with what he has achieved.

While Cathro will always be grateful to Valencia gaffer Nuno Espirito Santo, whom he met on an SFA coaching course in 2009, he wants to be his own man.

It’s why he didn’t take time out before the La Liga opener with Sevilla to realise how far he’d come. He’ll do that when he’s the main man in the dugout.

Cathro said of the moments leading up to that 1-1 draw: “I didn’t pause and take it all in.

“It’s probably partly because I’m so absorbed in the work. And also because my ambitions are beyond being an assistant.

“When the right time comes I want to work as my own man.

“I’ll consider that day being the start of my career. Maybe then I’d have two or three minutes to say, ‘Well done.’

“I’m in preparation phase. This is my Masters era at university in La Liga, for example. That’s what forces me not to have those moments of going, ‘Wow, I’m in the dugout of wherever.’

“I’ve never allowed myself to think ‘I’m here’ because it’s Nuno who is here.

“This year is valuable. I could have stayed at home but this is preparation for my career. I asked myself what experience would be more valuable for when I’m 40 years old.

“I decided it’s doing this job and working with players and coaches at a certain level. It’s working with a big club structure too. So many staff. So many aspects of the club. So many stresses. So many demands.

“This experience is going to help my preparation if I can prove to be someone who can become a head coach at this level.

“I don’t feel like I’m far away. It will come down more to the circumstance of a chance that comes up or can be created.”

The thought of giving up everything Cathro has in Spain just to be his own man seems remarkable but he said: “I’d be giving it up to come back.

“I want to be a head coach. Of course you are going to parachute out of a club like this and drop a lot.

“But I would be doing that with the point of view that I’m going to come back to this level.

“Would I return to Scotland? It’s quite possibly the most natural thing. The experience of being away has shown me that the process of learning a language can be quite long.

“You feel like you are a five-year-old because you can’t express yourself.

“I feel relaxed in Portuguese. I can be authoritative and descriptive with the language.

“But when I start my first job I will be young and I won’t have a playing career behind me so I need the English language.

“The preparation here is certainly not for the club that I start with. But if I can prove myself to be successful then these experiences will become more and more invaluable.”

Cathro followed Santo from Rio Ave to Valencia this summer when the Portuguese gaffer replaced the axed Juan Antonio Pizzi at the Mestalla.

And the Scot said: “One significant change is the quality of player. It’s not just quality but also intelligence.

“They are top players who have instincts which can be more valuable than anything you can draw on a tactics board.

“There is probably a bit of interest from the players in that they see the Portuguese coaching staff – and then me. If I’m speaking Portuguese they won’t notice any difference.

“But then they hear the odd swear word and say, ‘You’re not Portuguese.’ It’s important to not have every conversation centred on football because life is taking place at the same time.

“They do ask, ‘How did you meet these guys?’ They are sometimes curious.”