Foreword A lot of hard work went into making this book, and while ultimately the crowdfunding cam- paign failed it has been a great experience to put together. From watching hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of high- lights to getting our Ross Campbells mixed up we’ve had a great time. We are very grateful for the money raised which ended at over £1000 and for all the help we had creating and promot- ing it. We hope that it is something that is completed more successfully in the future, whether we are involved or not. Unfortunately as we didn’t hit the funding goal, some momentum was lost creating the full book so some illustrations and pieces of writing may be missing which we can only apologise for. About the Authors Matt and Peter are both 2019 graduates of Heriot - Watt University, both studying Geography, Society and Environment. Matt is an illustrator previously working for Hibernian FC, These Football Times and Nut- meg Magazine amongst others. Pater is a Scottish football fan and was heav- i l y i n v o l v e d i n a l o t o f t h e b e h i n d t h e s c e n e s work. Both provided equal efforts in interviewing, writing and editing the final copy of the book. Acknowledgements Ally Palmer — Nutmeg Magazine Editor For his support in promoting the annual and helping us understand the basics. Nicky Law — Exeter City FC Player For agreeing to be interviewed by us. Scott Palfrey — Exeter City FC Media and Communications Manager For helping us get in touch with Nicky Law and get a print out to him. Danny Denholm — East Fife Player For agreeing to be interviewed and introducing us to Ross Campbell. Ross Campbell — Oriam Executive Director/Montrose FC Player For agreeing to be interviewed by us. Lana Clelland — Fiorentina Player/Scotland International For agreeing to be interviewed by us. Lewis Cumming — Creator of the Statement League For his support and allowing us to use the Statement League. OldFirmFacts — Daily Record/Glasgow Live Columnist For agreeing to be interviewed by us and his support promoting the annual. Robert Wilson — SWF Marketing and Communications Manager For going above and beyond in helping us with our SWPL and Scottish Cup pieces. Fixtures Finally, league football was back, and what an exciting weekend we had! Aberdeen v Rangers was the standout game from the Premiership, with both expecting to be challenging for the title and European spaces at the start of the season. League one started us off with the first, of many, Angus derbies as Montrose hosted Arbroath, early chance for bragging rights! Celtic 3 - 1 Livingston; Hamilton 1 - 4 Hearts; Kilmarnock 2 - 0 St. Johnstone; St. Mirren 2 - 1 Dundee; Hibs 3 - 0 Motherwell; Aberdeen 1 - 1 Rangers Ayr 2 - 0 Partick; Dundee Utd 2 - 3 Dunfermline; Falkirk 0 - 1 Inverness; Morton 2 - 2 QotS; Ross County 1 - 0 Alloa East Fife 0 - 2 Dumbarton; Forfar 1 - 3 Airdrieonians; Montrose 0 - 4 Arbroath; Stenhousemuir 1 - 0 Brechin; Stranraer 1 - 1 Raith Rovers Annan Ath. 1 - 1 Elgin; Berwick 1 - 0 Stirling; Clyde 2 - 0 Cowdenbeath; Edinburgh City 4 - 0 Albion; Peterhead 1 - 1 Queen’s Park WEEK 1 7OTW Henderson ⭐ – A brilliant Hat - Trick from the big striker as Edinburgh City dismantled Albion 4 - 0. A complete striker’s performance. Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts 1 Hearts 3 1 Ayr United 3 1 Arbroath 3 1 Edinburgh 3 2 Hibernian 3 2 Dunferm- line 3 2 Airdrieoni- ans 3 2 Clyde 3 3 Celtic 3 3 Inverness CT 3 3 Dumbarton 3 3 Berwick Rangers 3 4 Kilmarnock 3 4 Ross County 3 4 Stenhouse- muir 3 4 Annan 1 5 St Mirren 3 5 Greenock Morton 1 5 Raith Rovers 1 5 Elgin City 1 6 Aberdeen 1 6 Queen of 1 6 Stranraer 1 6 Peterhead 1 7 Rangers 1 7 Dundee United 0 7 Brechin City 0 7 Queen’s Park 1 8 Dundee 0 8 Alloa 0 8 Forfar 0 8 Stirling Albion 0 9 Livingston 0 9 Falkirk 0 9 East Fife 0 9 Cowden- 0 10 St Johnstone 0 10 Partick Thistle 0 10 Montrose 0 10 Albion Rovers 0 11 Hamilton 0 12 Motherwell 0 Premiership Championship League 1 League 2 Moment of the Week Kenny Miller ‘s managerial debut isn’t going to plan so he substitutes veteran striker Kenny Miller on his debut. Motherwell 0 - 1 Hamilton; Livingstone 0 - 0 Kilmarnock; Dundee 0 - 1 Aberdeen; Hearts 1 - 0 Celtic; St. Johnstone 1 - 1 Hibs; Rangers 2 - 0 St. Mirren QotS 1 - 2 Dundee Utd; Partick 2 - 1 Falkirk; Inverness 0 - 0 Ayr; Dunfermline 1 - 3 Ross County; Alloa 0 - 2 Morton Raith Rovers 2 - 0 Stenhousemuir; Dumbarton 0 - 2 Forfar; Brechin 1 - 0 East Fife; Arbroath 3 - 1 Stranraer; Airdrieonians 0 - 1 Montrose Queen’s Park 1 - 0 Berwick; Stirling 0 - 3 Clyde; Elgin City 1 - 0 Edinburgh City; Cowdenbeath 1 - 2 Annan Ath; Albion 0 - 4 Peterhead Fixtures Going into this week the new season buzz was still around, but for some clubs week 1 was a real eye opener, making for some intriguing encounters. The Lanarkshire Derby is always a fixture to look forward to. Both teams were coming off the back of seriously poor results and looking to use the fiery atmosphere of the der- by to kickstart their seasons. League one provided another potentially interesting game in Dumbarton v Forfar. Two teams that, before the season, were expected to be up near the top had everyone talking. WEEK 2 7OTW Miller ⭐ – A player of the match performance from the controlling midfielder. Scoring a fine brace for Morton in their convincing win. Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts 1 Hearts 6 1 Ross County 6 1 Arbroath 6 1 Clyde 6 2 Hibernian 4 2 Ayr United 4 2 Raith Rovers 4 2 Annan 4 3 Kilmarnock 4 3 Inverness CT 4 3 Airdrieoni- ans 3 3 Elgin City 4 4 Aberdeen 4 4 Greenock 4 4 Dumbarton 3 4 Peterhead 4 5 Rangers 4 5 Dunferm- line 3 5 Stenhouse- muir 3 5 Queen’s Park 4 6 Celtic 3 6 Dundee United 3 6 Brechin City 3 6 Edinburgh City 3 7 St Mirren 3 7 Partick Thistle 3 7 Forfar 0 7 Berwick Rangers 3 8 Hamilton 3 8 Queen of the South 1 8 Montrose 0 8 Stirling Albion 0 9 Livingston 1 9 Alloa 0 9 Stranraer 0 9 Cowden- beath 0 10 St 1 10 Falkirk 0 10 East Fife 0 10 Albion 0 11 Dundee 0 12 Motherwell 0 Premiership Championship League 1 League 2 Moment of the Week Rory McAllister’s goals for Peterhead mean that he becomes the first player in the SPFL to hit 100 goals.. Dumbarton 1 - 1 Arbroath; Forfar 0 - 0 Stranraer; Montrose 2 - 1 Brechin; Raith 2 - 2 East Fife; Stenny 1 - 2 Airdrie Albion 0 - 1 Elgin; Annan 3 - 1 Queen’s Park; Cowdenbeath 4 - 0 Berwick; Edinburgh City 3 - 1 Stirling; Peterhead 1 - 0 Clyde Fixtures The first full Betfred cup weekend was upon us, as the teams competing in Europe entered the competition. League one and League two continued as normal though, thankfully! As always, the cup games were exciting, knockout football is always tricky to call. League two gave us a big early game as the top two of Peterhead and Clyde faced off, an early indication as to how this League could go. WEEK 3 7OTW Morelos ⭐ – El Buffalo continued to prove his doubters wrong with a hat - trick as Rangers ran riot against Killie. Adding a few million to his value. Premiership Championship League 1 League 2 Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts 1 Hearts 6 1 Ross 6 1 Arbroath 7 1 Peterhead 7 2 Hibernian 4 2 Ayr United 4 2 Airdrieoni- 6 2 Annan 7 3 Kilmarnock 4 3 Inverness CT 4 3 Raith Rovers 5 3 Elgin City 7 4 Aberdeen 4 4 Greenock 4 4 Dumbarton 4 4 Clyde 6 5 Rangers 4 5 Dunferm- line 3 5 Stenhouse- muir 3 5 Edinburgh City 6 6 Celtic 3 6 Dundee United 3 6 Brechin City 3 6 Queen’s Park 4 7 St Mirren 3 7 Partick Thistle 3 7 Montrose 3 7 Berwick Rangers 3 8 Hamilton 3 8 Queen of the South 1 8 Forfar 1 8 Cowden- beath 3 9 Livingston 1 9 Alloa 0 9 Stranraer 1 9 Stirling Albi- 0 10 St Johnstone 1 10 Falkirk 0 10 East Fife 1 10 Albion Rovers 0 11 Dundee 0 12 Motherwell 0 Moment of the Week Glasgow City need a 2 - 0 win vs Gornik Leczna to progress in the Champions League and 19 - year - old Sam Kerr stepped up in the 85th minute to secure it, Hibernian 1 - 1 Aberdeen; Killie 0 - 1 Hearts; St. Johnstone 1 - 0 Dundee; St. Mirren 0 - 2 Livi; Motherwell 3 - 3 Rangers; Celtic 1 - 0 Ham ilton Ayr 4 - 1 Dunfermline; Dundee UTD 3 - 1 Partick; Falkirk 0 - 3 QOTS; Inverness 2 - 2 Alloa; Morton 2 - 1 Ross County Airdrie 3 - 4 Raith; Brechin 3 - 2 Dumbarton; East Fife 0 - 3 Arbroath; Forfar 2 - 0 Stenny; Stranraer 2 - 0 Montrose Berwick 0 - 3 Annan; Clyde 0 - 2 Edinburgh City; Queen’s Park 2 - 0 Albion; Stirling 0 - 2 Peterhead Fixtures After the stresses of the Betfred Cup, league action was back for the top two divisions. Motherwell v Rangers was set to be a feisty affair following Hartley’s comments in the media! Ayr v Dunfermline was a standout game from the fixture list, the newly promoted side had been caus- ing upsets with inform Shankland up front! WEEK 4 7OTW Dobbie ⭐ – An unbelievable performance from the veteran striker. His hat - trick doesn’t even tell the full story Premiership Championship League 1 League 2 Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts 1 Hearts 9 1 Greenock 7 1 Arbroath 10 1 Peterhead 10 2 Celtic 6 2 Ayr United 7 2 Raith Rovers 8 2 Annan 10 3 Hibernian 5 3 Ross County 6 3 Brechin City 6 3 Edinburgh City 9 4 Aberdeen 5 4 Dundee 6 4 Airdrieoni- 6 4 Queen’s 7 5 Rangers 5 5 Inverness 5 5 Forfar 4 5 Elgin City 7 6 Kilmarnock 4 6 Queen of 4 6 Dumbarton 4 6 Clyde 6 7 Livingston 4 7 Partick Thistle 3 7 Stranraer 4 7 Berwick Rangers 3 8 St Johnstone 4 8 Dunferm- line 3 8 Montrose 3 8 Cowden- beath 3 9 St Mirren 3 9 Alloa 1 9 Stenhouse- muir 3 9 Stirling Albi- on 0 10 Hamilton 3 10 Falkirk 0 10 East Fife 1 10 Albion 0 11 Motherwell 1 12 Dundee 0 Moment of the Week After some controversy surrounding comments Hartley made in the build up, and some rather questionable defend- ing. The big man scored a 90th minute equaliser to hold Rangers to a 3 - 3 draw. Aberdeen 0 - 2 Killie; Dundee 1 - 3 Motherwell; Hamilton 1 - 2 St. Johnstone; Hearts 4 - 1 St. Mirren; Livi 2 - 1 Hibs; Celtic 1 - 0 Rangers Alloa 1 - 1 Dundee UTD; Dunfermline 0 - 3 Inverness; Partick 1 - 0 Morton; QOTS 5 - 0 Ayr; Ross County 2 - 0 Falkirk Airdrie 2 - 0 Stranraer; Arbroath 2 - 2 Brechin; Montrose 0 - 2 East Fife; Raith 4 - 0 Forfar; Stenny 2 - 1 Dumbarton Albion 3 - 5 Berwick; Annan 1 - 2 Clyde; Elgin 0 - 3 Stirling; Peterhead 0 - 1 Edinburgh City; Queen’s 0 - 0 Cowdenbeath Fixtures This weekend was one of the first to catch every- one’s eye, with the first Old Firm of the season. We were treated to another Angus derby early on as Arbroath faced Brechin. League 2 was again throwing up excitement as Pe- terhead came up against Edinburgh City. WEEK 5 7OTW Dobbie ⭐ – Another week, another incredible per- formance. Dobbie continued his electric form, scor- ing four! Like a fine wine. Premiership Championship League 1 League 2 Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts Pos Team Pts 1 Hearts 12 1 Ross 9 1 Arbroath 11 1 Peterhead 10 2 Celtic 9 2 Inverness CT 8 2 Raith Rovers 11 2 Annan 10 3 Kilmarnock 7 3 Ayr United 7 3 Airdrieoni- ans 9 3 Edinburgh City 10 4 Livingston 7 4 Dundee 7 4 Brechin City 7 4 Clyde 9 5 St 7 5 Queen of 7 5 Stenhouse- 6 5 Queen’s 8 6 Aberdeen 5 6 Greenock 7 6 Dumbarton 4 6 Elgin City 7 7 Rangers 5 7 Partick Thistle 6 7 Stranraer 4 7 Berwick Rangers 6 8 Hibernian 5 8 Dunferm- line 3 8 Forfar 4 8 Cowden- beath 4 9 Motherwell 4 9 Alloa 2 9 East Fife 4 9 Stirling Albi- 3 10 Hamilton 3 10 Falkirk 0 10 Montrose 3 10 Albion 0 11 St Mirren 3 12 Dundee 0 Moment of the Week Ray MacKinnon decides to leave Green- ock Morton a good start to the season to last placed Falkirk. This caused some reaction from the Morton faithful... When you first came up you came to Mother- well, what made you choose coming up here as opposed to staying down south? I think, a big thing was the manager, Stuart McCall who I knew well from my time at Sheffield United and a couple spells at Bradford. I think I was 23 when I decided to go to Motherwell, I re- member meeting Stuart and just had a chat about it, I don’t think Stuart ever really thought I would make the decision to go to Motherwell, as I had never really left England and particularly Yorkshire but Stuart was a big reason and just a new challenge, I fancied something just some- thing a little bit different and the SPL, as it was called at the time, was something that I fancied and in the end it turned out to be a good decision as I, arguably, had 2 of my best seasons there at Motherwell. How influential was Stuart McCall in you as a player then? Obviously, you liked playing under him but what impact did he have on your playing style and things? He had a big impact actually, I played with him for a bit at Sheffield United, quite late in his career and he used to play in reserve games with us, at centre - back by the point having dropped down from centre - mid at that point and I used to play in front of him and he was absolutely great for all the young lads with his experience, his knowledge and he’s always had that passion for helping young players and I was no different. He ended up getting a coaching role at Sheffield United and he was Neil Warnock’s assistant manager and I used to train with the first team quite a bit and managed to get a few games for the first - team and I think Stuart was quite big in to Neil Warnock to give me my chance. He then left Sheffield United and was the Bradford man- ager and I had a couple of loan spells there and he’s always seen to get the best out of me as a player and I think I’ve always managed to give him my best football, its just the confidence he’s always given me to just go out and play my game so yeah he’s one of, if not the biggest influence on my career and playing style. When you were at Motherwell you played in the Champions League qualifiers, obviously in Scot- land teams have to play a lot of rounds to get in the CL proper, how does that feel knowing you’re in Europe but you still have to play 6 or so games to get in or near the groups? Firstly, it’s a great experience regardless, it was a great reward for the great season we had before. I think we got a bit of fortune with The Rangers’ situation with regards to that it meant we got the chance to go to the champions league qualifiers instead of I think straight to Europa League if not. We knew it was going to be a very difficult task and ultimately, we never got past the 1st stage vs Panathanikos but we knew if we did get past them it would have been difficult. It was a great experience for ourselves and quite a strange one really and we thought we acquitted ourselves quite well over the 2 legs and it sounds strange since it was, I think a 5 - 0 defeat but we actually played quite well, particularly in the home game, we certainly didn’t deserve to lose 2 - 0 we were the better side but of course with the quality and standard of teams at that level you get punished and unfortunately on that night we were and we didn’t put our chances and then going to Greece with a 2 - 0 deficit was never going to be easy, but it was a great experience regardless. I think after that we had Levante in the Europa League qualifi- ers which again we just fell short but they were brilliant experiences and ones I loo back on with pride and very happy that I got the chance to play in both those competitions. So you left Motherwell to go to Rangers, who were in the lower divisions then, so what made you decide to go there despite just coming 2nd with Motherwell? The size of Rangers, one of the reasons of going to Scotland was to play against those 2 massive old firm sides and hopefully do well enough and maybe getting the possibility of playing for one of them. And my performances in my 2 years at Motherwell attracted the interest of Ally McCoist at the time, and I had a couple meetings with him and then he showed me around the place, and I think it was just too big an opportunity to turn down. I know they weren’t in the top flight at that point but it was just the sheer size of the club and the opportunity that at the time was too big to turn down and to play for someone of Ally McCoist’s stature was brilliant and he was char- ismatic as you’d expect and yeah he was good but he just, he wanted me to play a part of getting Rangers’ back where they should be, and that’s another thing I look back on with pride that alt- hough the 3 years were difficult there for different reasons it’s definitely not something I regret it’s something I look back on with huge pride to say I played for that club and ultimately we didn’t get them back into the top flight and its great to see them now, finally looking like they’re ready to challenge again. There was quite a lot of turmoil at Rangers’ while you were there and although for the most part getting up the leagues was done well, there were a lot of managerial changes and such, it must have been quite a pressurised environ- ment as a player? Yeah, I think not just changeover in management but there was new people coming in all the time, there was fans unrest and it was difficult to keep that away from the squad and it definitely im- pacted the players as well and at times it just started to take its toll. The pressure side of play- ing for Rangers was a good thing, playing in front of those fans week in week out was unbelievable. The 1st year was good we went unbeaten, which a lot of people expected us to do but it was still great to do it, I think it was that second season which was the most difficult obviously Ally left and then Kenny took over and I don’t think he wanted to be the manager at that time and then of course Stuart came in and that season fin- ished with what we deserved really it was poor, and then the 3rd year was a good season. Mark Warburton came in and we played some good football and ultimately got back into the SPL and overall, I went there to get them back in and I played a little part in there. Was there a lot of commotion between the play- ers about what was going on or did you try to just ignore it? We spoke about it a lot none of us knew the ins and outs of it all but just stuff we read in the pa- pers all the chief - executives changes and things like that. Obviously, its difficult to avoid that kind of stuff, especially in Scotland and particularly with Rangers and Celtic as you hear stuff about them every day. Its difficult to know what to be- lieve a lot of the time and as I say, particualy in the 2nd season with Ally going and things like that we had an idea that things were happening behind the scenes. It was difficult and then Hearts’ ran away with it that season and we struggled in the play - off final, but we struggled as whole that year. I think the managers always tried to keep the players as far away from it as possi- ble but at times that was difficult. A lot of your transfers have been free ones, run- ning out contracts, do you ever wish you’d may- be stayed a bit longer at Motherwell or Rangers? It would have been good to be at Rangers for a couple more years, particularly with them getting back into the top flight but I understood that Mark Warburton came in at that point and he brought 9/10 in in my first season and knew that the play- ing squad needed improvement at that time. So, I understood that, and he went on and signed an- other 7/8 that season and that’s just part of foot- ball, he was going another way and that’s fine. With regards to Motherwell, at the end of my 2 years we had had 2 really successful seasons and I felt it was just time to move on I think a few of my teammates also moved on, Darren Ran- dolph, Tom Hateley, big players. We had all played well and all deserved our moves at that point. I don’t really regret either decision, I nearly re - signed for Motherwell after Rangers, and it was close, but Stuart McCall went back to Brad- ford and I ended up going with him again, you never know in the future. You never say never... but no I don’t regret leaving at the points I did for either club. Do you ever wish you stayed up here? I think at that point I had had 5 years I’ll never rule out going back and I never ruled out staying back then and there were options. But with Stuart get- ting the Bradford job it was a chance to go back home to that Yorkshire area where all my family lived, and after 5 years I just wanted to go a bit closer to home. As it’s turned out I’ve signed for Exeter now and I’m away again! But in football you just never know where you’re going to end up. But at that time biggest part of my decision was that it was just back home, and it was just something I’d fancied after 5 years. Looking to the future, a lot of top managers have come through Scotland, would you ever consider coming back up as a coach? Yeah definitely, a lot of ex - players and players in Scotland that did well are now managing and its definitely something that I’ll be looking to do. I’m looking to get my badges done in the next year or two and if an opportunity arose at first team level or younger. That younger level is definitely some- thing I’m interested in having that opportunity to develop young players and watch them grow, ob- viously I’m getting to that point in my career where I’m starting to look at my career after play- ing and coaching one of those paths I could take, and coaching up in Scotland is definitely some- thing I would think about . Started of in the East of Scotland league, what was it like playing at that level? It was good, it was a step up from where I was. I was never in an academy or anything so that lev- el was a mans game, Was playing with the Edin- burgh city youth team and then played for the first team at like 17 which was great, then went to Uni, not on a scholarship but after a couple years they offered me one so I jumped ship to Striling. Which was fantastic, went from Edinburgh City which was all guys a lot older than me to all guys that were my age, that kinda Wednesday scene at University. Think we played something like 70 games a season and I loved every single one. What is your fondest memory from that period? On footballing side of things winning the lowland league was great but to be honest the bits I treas- ured most from that time were the guys in the team that I’m still pals with today. Just going out with them. The bonds you get with people from going out is great. We actually played in the Brit- ish league rather than the Scottish, so we’d go down to Birmingham and London so we had a fair few good nights out and at the age it meant a lot and I’m still friends with those boys so that’s what meant the most to me. Since then Stirling have made it into the lowland league, and Edinburgh have made it into the SPFL, having played there what do you make of the pyramid system? Its obviously stacked against the non - league side which I don’t think is very fair but Edinburgh city are the only team to have done that and they had to win their league, beat a highland league side and then beat a League 2 side over two legs. So it’s a good concept [to have promotion/relegation there] but I think there’s clubs that rest on their laurels in League 2, clubs like Albion Rovers and Cowdenbeath in the past which just have terrible facilities, terrible clubs really and then you have clubs like Spartans and East Kilbride which are doing great things and I think would be better for the league, so I just wish there was more of us who came up other than just Edinburgh City. So you then moved to Forfar who, at the time, were in the 3 rd division, that seems like quite a big jump from non - league to there what did you do to make sure you’d be successful? Do you know it didn’t really phase me cos I did quite well there and got invited to go into Falkirk when Steven Pressley was in charge, so I did pre - season with them which was tough you know, a lot of running! But I thought you know I’m not too far off this level and if Forfar is the league below this then I’ll have a crack of it and I think I was still young just 20/21 so was still confident enough and I didn’t know anyone from the Scot- tish lower league so I really went in with no real reservations and that helped me massively. Prob- ably sometimes when you know what your facing you can start worrying about other players, but I didn’t at the time, so I just hit the ground running. That earned you a move to Livingstone, your first full time contract, that must have been a big move for you? Oh yeah it was huge. I played for Hearts when I was 13/14 but I got shown the door quite early, so I never thought I’d ever not only be paid to play football but to play as my only job at the time. Waking up and training everyday was an oppor- tunity I couldn’t turn down, the money obviously wasn’t great, but it was just a dream I remember looking back and thinking “how did I get here". I think a lot of players at that level sometimes have been around and sort of take it for granted but not me, someone who came from really not hav- ing a sniff of fulltime football to get that oppor- tunity was great. Don’t want to bring up to many sour memories but you’ve said being at Livingstone was maybe a little ‘underwhelming’ do you have any regrets about it? It was. I was optimistic and the club was going through a lot of turmoil there was managers coming and going and I wasn’t on a lot of money and I think realisation hit a few months in that I wasn’t really getting a game and was sort of in and out, and was showing up to my work, which was to play football and its great to train every- day but you know you’re not going to get a game, the contract was running out in a few months, your pals are moving houses and settling down and I was still in my mum and dads garage! That was just in the back of my mind that I needed to go part - time because the money was very simi- lar, and I could actually start a career. Was that then your reasoning for heading back to Forfar? Definitely, cos I got offered a new contract at Liv- ingstone but it was the same money, the same money that Forfar and Brechin were offering so I just weighed up that I’m 23 can get good money to play part - time football, I know what’s needed at that level so I think I was just being pragmatic about it and saying I’ve got to get back into part - time. Those next 3 years were quite tumultuous at Forfar, Dick Campbell being sacked promotion, relegation what was it like as a player during that period? The 2 nd season was mad, the first season we were quite confident and some quality players like Dale Hilson, Steven Husband they’d been at full time and we had loads of experience with Rab Douglas and Darren Dodds so we had a good balance so we were confident we could have a challenge and luckily a few teams stuttered and that maybe helped us but the following season, the experience boys were another year older and we lost Dale Hilson and then we lost a couple games. Football at that level is a lot to do with momentum I think, once you start losing a couple games I remember it vividly there was just a neg- a t i v e v i b e a r o u n d t h e p l a c e , j u s t e v e r y o n e w a s down not falling out or anything like that just ‘where are we getting this win from’ just nothing was happening and then obviously the manager got sacked and they brought in, in my opinion, the wrong appointment at the time. Where Dick was nurturing, Gary Bolan wasn’t he’d just sort of run you and say things like ‘you guys are letting the manager down’ which isn’t really what we needed at that stage and it ended in relegation which wasn’t ideal the following season we then came right back up again and that was a good season. Its just all about winning, especially part - time doesn’t matter if you’re league 2, league 1 I’d ra- ther win in league 2 than lose in league 1 it just makes such a difference to your weekend. That was a better thing about part - time that if you did get beat you had to get ready for your work on the Monday morning and that took your mind off it, whereas if you’ve been beaten you have to go back in and know you’re getting a rollicking from the manager so that’s maybe the beauty of part - time football.