Martin McNelis, 38, of North Barr, Erskine, travelled more than 6,000 miles to score his goal of visiting 42 professional football grounds in Scotland.

Now he has chronicled the crusade in a book which he hopes will help raise money for two charities close to his heart.

“It was worth every single journey and every single penny,” the dad-of-three said. “I feel like I’ve achieved a huge goal that I always wanted to do — but it definitely was a lot tougher than it sounds.” His first book, Got To Do The 42, came together after documenting his journey in an online blog which attracted the attention of hundreds of readers.

But his long-held mission wasn’t only driven by his passion for the sport, but also because of a series of harrowing events that inspired him to live life to the fullest.

“My son Conor was 13 at the time when he collapsed, fell into a coma and was diagnosed with diabetes,” Martin recalled.

“I can remember it vividly because the family had booked up to go to Turkey and Conor just wasn’t himself, he was very frail and had no energy. Thankfully we got him to hospital and treated on time so we were able to go abroad as he was feeling a lot better.

“But as soon as I got back home I received the news that my friend from Bishopton, Neil Harold, who had known the family for the best part of 35 years, was killed in a brutal car crash in Cumbernauld.

“This all happened within a week. It was a very dark time and it’s still pretty raw.” Neil was killed in the horror smash just days after his 34th birthday, after his car collided with a Mercedes on the A8011 dual carriageway, known as Wilderness Brae, on August 1, 2012.

Devastating close friend Martin at the time, it was this tragic accident which spurred him to accomplish his life-long dream.

Martin, a Local Government worker, said: “I just thought, I’m going to do this now. I spoke to a couple of my pals who support St Mirren, others who follow Thistle and Morton, and I thought, I’ll tag along and take the boys.” He spent eight months travelling the length and breadth of the country to profile each of the stadia, facing many obstacles, including unpredictable Scottish weather, altered kick-off times, route changes and reluctant sons.

While Martin’s wife Donna and their 13-year-old daughter Bethany stayed at home, Martin, Conor, 15, and Ryan, 10, hit the road.

“There was one point where I had to go to about six games in one week. Trying to juggle that, work and look after three kids at the same time proved very difficult.

“Once I’d managed to complete the challenge, I got home and no-one was even in the house!” he laughed.

“It was a bit of an anti-climax there but that’s when I got working on the book so I could share my experience.

“My hope is to use some of the money made from the book to give to the BRAKE charity and Diabetes UK as a tribute to Neil and also my son Conor.” Got To Do The 42 (£9.99) by Martin McNelis is published this month by Empire Publications. Martin can be contacted by email on gtdt42@aol.co.uk and found on Twitter where his ‘handle’ is @gtdt42