THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES SANDY

SANDY GIVES THE THUMBS UP TO ARTHURLIE’S SUPPORTERS

You would think that the one thing you do not do as a goalkeeper is move to a club where the gloves wearing incumbent is an Internationalist No 1 yet Sandy McLean did it to great effect …twice.

This liking for healthy competition did occasionally backfire on him, however few can deny he progressed as much as he could and established himself as someone with a rising reputation, during a silverware laden Junior career as a player, coach and manager spanning all of 35 years.

The nowadays 62 year old , argumentative to a fault and never short of an opinion , would dispute his winners medals haul deserved to be greater, however satisfaction comes from his recognition as `one of the best in class` by opponents and team mates alike from his heyday.

Born in sprawling Drumchapel, to the North-West of Glasgow, Sandy attended St Pius Secondary and has fond memories of `local school derbies` against Kingsridge Secondary for whom Rangers signing John McDonald was the star turn.

Ian Weir , later of Pollok, and Pat McShane who stepped upstairs with Leicester City before returning to Hearts under Jock Wallace at Hearts played alongside Sandy in that St Pius side while both he and Weir also featured for a successful Anniesland Waverley Boys Club where among their Under 19’s team mates to go on to greater things were Joe Mackie (Petershill) and tidy full back Michael Heron who had stints with Yoker Athletic, Petershill and Queens Park .

Yoker ‘s close bond with Anniesland saw them snap up their Under 21’s goalkeeper Freddie Jackson and the Junior outfit turned to the Boys Club again , this time for Sandy when a replacement was needed after Jackson went on holiday mid-season.

He recounted “ I did reasonably well in a couple of games before returning to Waverley but a couple of weeks later was asked to come back out again only this time the Yoker manager John Murray made it clear he wanted me as his first pick and not long afterwards, Freddie was transferred to another club…Bailleston or Pollok I think.”

Sandy excelled playing in a Yoker side containing defensive worthies Pat Cairney, John Boyce, Hugh Duffy and Eddie Stokes while the further down the line arrival at Holm Park of Jim George as manager yielded up a first trophy success in almost 40 years in the shape of the Beatons Coaches Sectional League Cup through a 2-1 Final defeat of Arthurlie earned by Joe Mackie and Campbell McEwan goals.

Watching that Final was enigmatic Ayr United boss Ally McLeod whose admiration for Sandy’s performance led to him asking the 22 year old keeper to join a Somerset Park squad comprising of the likes of ex-Celtic pair John Sludden and Brian McLaughlin, Davie Irons , Ian McAllister and the only other goalkeeper on the Ayr books, David Purdie .

Sandy revealed, “ I was there for around 18 months but my only first team experience came in a 6-0 pre-season `roasting` by Arsenal whose line-up back then included towering types ,Nial Quinn, John Lukic, Tony Woodcock and Alan Smith as well as Charlie Nicholas and Kenny Samson.

“Lining up in the tunnel alongside players of their height and physique was nothing short of intimidating but they could also play a bit and I conceded four goals from playing the first half.

“I also captained Ayr United Reserves on a number of occasions and a lot of the guys reckoned I was as good if not better than Purdie but the likelihood of me ever getting a crack at a first team jersey was spelled out in a heart to heart talk with Ally.

“He explained that Purdie and the Morton No 1 at the time, David Wylie, were the only Under 21 keepers playing first team football so he was going to continue picking him in the hope he could get into the Scotland set-up!”

Xmas 1987 saw Sandy obtain his release from Ayr but he was only out of the game a matter of days before Sanny McAnespie made a bizarre signing approach after enticing him into playing a couple of games for his Stranraer side boasting brothers Tommy and Joe Coyle, Tony Gallagher and Joe Carson .

Said Sandy, “ I was offered a contract until the end of the season and would gladly have gone there but for Sanny revealing he was about to resign from his manager post

“I felt obliged to turn him down not least because I wasn’t prepared to gamble on whether a new manager would see me as part of his plans though it did help make my mind up that Jim George had been in touch wanting me to join him at Petershill where he had taken charge.”

He added “The annoying thing is that Stranraer were then drawn against Celtic at Parkhead in the Scottish Cup and being a Celtic supporter, I was gutted at missing the opportunity to run out there.”

A matter of months later, the now 27 year old shotstopper was established in a Peasy side, along with Billy McLafferty, Jim McGinley and former Yoker team mates Cairney , Stokes, Jim Kilpatrick, Gary Dickie and Billy Reid that made it all the way to the Scottish Junior Cup Final only to lose 1-0 in a Rugby Park staged finale against Auchinleck Talbot.

Sandy was to remain on the Peasy books for the next five seasons ,playing an integral part as the Central League Premier Division title and Central League Cup were won while further acknowledgement of his abilities came from winning his first and only cap after being selected for Scotland Juniors by team boss Tommy Reynolds.

He and fellow goalkeeper Grant Clark (Dundee Downfield) Jim Sinnett (Linlithgow Rose),Pat Barkey (Larkhall Thistle),Andy McQuade (Pollok), Andy Dunlop(Glenafton) and Billy Young (Auchinleck Talbot) helped make up a Scottish squad that narrowly lost out 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland in a Cumnock staged match.

SANDY AT PETERSHILL FLANKED BY PAT CAIRNEY(left) AND JIM KILPATRICK (right)

Another keynote moment occurred for Sandy in 1991 when he parted company with the Springburn outfit after joining the Fire Service where it quickly dawned on him that playing football would need to take a back seat to working shifts and occasional weekends.

Around this time he opted to drop down into the Central League B Division with Johnstone Burgh where George Walker was in the throes of putting together a young side around the experienced trio of Eddie McKim, Billy Peacock and one time Airdrie midfielder Norrie Anderson.

Sandy takes up the story, “ We did well to hold our own that season and went into our final league match against Larkhall Thistle knowing a victory would bring promotion but we lost 3-2 and I allowed my disappointment to boil over in the aftermath.

“George attempting to console us by coming into our dressing room to say “We had too many young players and didn’t really want to go up “ caused me to go loopy and resulted in the two of us engaging in a loud and heated exchange of words in front of the other guys.

“Such a massive fall out was never going to be easily healed and I never went back which led to the Burgh accepting a transfer bid from Arthurlie a few months down the line from the 1993/94 season getting underway.

“They already had an experienced goalkeeper in Willie Devine who was also the Scotland Juniors No 1 but rather than have a backlog of matches due to postponements when he was away on International duty, their management team of Fergus Ferguson and Jimmy McQuade brought myself on board to deputize for Willie .

“All told, I made three appearances at best as we went on to be crowned Premier Division champions that season with a mix of experienced guys such as Pat Cairney, Colin Lyndsay, John Holland Jojo Gardiner and Stevie Bullock along with exciting up and coming talents Tony McDonald , Joe Gillies and James Grady.”

The following season saw him assume the Barrhead No 1 jersey in his own right causing Devine to head for pastures new while Sandy went on to establish himself between the sticks and play a not insignificant role in helping to lift the West of Scotland Cup, Central League Cup(x 2) and Evening Times Cup (x 2) over the next five years.

The crux of his memorable playing career undoubtedly arrived in 1997/98 , coincidentally his last ever season when aged 37 his career long quest for a Scottish Junior Cup winners medal was finally satisfied by Arthurlie’s 4-0 defeat of great rivals Pollok in the Final.

He recalled , “ Being beset with aches and pains at the start of that season had made me decide to retire at the end of it and I thought it best to informQuadey and Frank Lynch of my intentions so they moved to bring in a top goalkeeper in Davie Cormack from Ross County.

“He and I alternated to fill the goalkeeping position most weeks and I actually played in more of our Scottish Cup ties on the way to the Final though the big man did get the nod on the day itself.

“I’m not going to pretend being named as a substitute was anything other than a blow but rather than sulk about it , I kept my professional face on and set about helping Davie in his preparations just as we’d done for each other on countless occasions .”

Sandy quipped , “ Jimmy and Frank ,aware this was my last ever season , then made the magnificent gesture of calling me over to see if I wanted to play the final 12 minutes and if memory serves me right, I was ready to go on before they finished asking the question.”

Sandy didn’t go back on his `hanging up the boots` call but the start of the new season did find him at another club, Largs Thistle , where former Stranraer team mate Brendan McIntyre had taken over at the helm and was looking for a knowledgeable No 2 .

Their partnership lasted until March when McIntyre was ousted after a string of indifferent results had relegation looking a very real possibility however Barrfields officials asking Sandy to look after team matters until the season’s end (he only did so with McIntyre’s approval) sparked an amazing turnaround in form…a 6 points haul when he took the reins ended up as a 21 points total … leading to Theesel avoiding the drop and an offer for Sandy to take the post on a permanent basis.

He took the job and immediately set about making his mark with an accent on youthful acquisitions through establishing a link with Glasgow Amateurs and bringing on board Martin Gray, Derek Rae, Andy Newman and Billy Davidson as well as talented brothers Chris and Alan Dickson however this first love affair with Largs, (he was to manage them on three separate occasions) proved to be a short-lived one of ten months.

“Ours was a decent side and never under threat of relegation however a problem arose after the Dickson brothers called off from a crunch Cup game and one of our leading officials demanded we get rid of them because of their perceived lack of commitment.” he revealed.

“Chris getting married and having Alan as his best man seemed as good a reason as any for their absence so I point blank refused to bin either player yet within days I had been sacked and replaced by Frank Lovering ???”

A conversation about him assuming the hotseat at Beith followed and Sandy along with loyal assistant Bruce Reid moved to Bellsdale to take charge of a veritable band of highly regarded playing charges ,John McLaughlin, Billy Borthwick, Alan Ewing and Frank O’Hara among them, however a combination of pressing personal circumstances away from the game and poor results acted to bring about a parting of the ways , a year and a bit later.

At this juncture, Sandy took some time out in favour of watching his son’s team St Andrews Juveniles based in Greenock where a chance encounter with the local Junior side’s manager Danny Gault and assistant George Glancey initiated an invite for him to come onto their backroom team and it was not long before his old enthusiasm was renewed in working with a Ravenscraig side whose ranks included the much heralded Mark Monk, Gus Gault, John Paul Dow and Pat McIlvogue.

The management team’s combined nous worked relative wonders as Greenock duly won the Central Second Division title along with reaching the West of Scotland Cup’s penultimate stage however these achievements clearly counted for nothing after a dispute between the outspoken Gault and his club’s Committee saw the trio shown the door.

It was now 2009 and Sandy’s dugout stock as a result of his accomplishments over the previous decade had not gone unnoticed at one of his previous clubs Largs Thistle whose changing of their `top table` guard facilitated a second time around approach to their former team boss which Sandy gratefully accepted.

He revealed , “ Wholesale changes to the team were not necessary because Stevie Quigg, the Largs manager before me, had brought in a number of former Greenock players like Gault, Dow, Andy Monaghan and Eddie Walton so all that was needed was for me and my No 2 Pat McIlvogue to supplement them with guys of a similar ilk in Tam Jamieson,Gary Davidson, Ryan Deas and not forgetting Ross McMillan , the cornerstone of our team and to my mind , the best centreback in Scottish football back then.

“ 90% of our squad were from Inverclyde and we confounded all the pundits by reaching the Scottish Junior Cup Final , beating West of Scotland champions Irvine Meadow and East of Scotland title winners Bonnyrigg Rose on the way, but unfortunately we lost 1-0 to Linlithgow Rose at Rugby Park.

SANDY IN HIS MANAGEMENT DAYS

“ That team did get promotion and the following season comfortably stayed in the top league and were unluckily beaten in the West semi-finals by Rob Roy however I didn’t feel it was enough to be patting ourselves on the back without winning anything so I jumped at the chance of a return to Arthurlie after Mark Cameron resigned and I received a telephone call to say the job was mine if I wanted it .”

James Lundie, Neil Parry, Frank McKeown ,Stevie Crawford and John McLay were among the names Sandy inherited at Dunterlie and his self-assured control of team matters derived a rewarding first season ,finishing West Region runners-up to champ[ions Auchinleck Talbot and winning both the West of Scotland Cup (beating arch foes Pollok 1-0 in the Final) and the Evening Times Cup.

The following campaign was nowhere near as successful on the back of a plethora of key playing departures, kickstarted by pre-season transfer moves taking goalkeeper Parry to Queens Park and central defender McKeown to Stranraer .

Replacing them with players of a similar ilk was impossible and the Barrhead men hit the skids as a consequence prior to an end of season clash with Petershill proving the final straw for both Sandy and his club.

He recalled ,” In the lead up to the Peasy game , one of our officials had said Michael Keenan should be dropped as he could be a liability playing against his old team mates but I chose to ignore him .

“The game itself saw us fight back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 before Petershill got back on level terms however Michael was then sent off and their extra man told in getting their noses in front at 4-3 to take all three points.

“I knew then the dreaded telephone call was coming.”

Sandy’s next posting, working with Morton’s Youth Academy under the Senior club’s leading light Derek Anderson (formerly of Auchinleck ) was an unfamiliar one that he thoroughly enjoyed for a three year stint before the lure of Largs Thistle got to him again.

Long time pals Pat McIlvogue and Danny Gault had got the dreaded bullet following a fairly underachieving season that sparked a plea for Sandy to return and show he could still work the oracle (did someone say good things come in threes ?).

He achieved that and more besides in steering Largs to an Ayrshire Cup success and more famously gaining promotion to the Super League in 2013 with a 4-2 penalty kicks shoot- out victory over Ashfield following a two-legged Final that astonishingly finished 7-7 on aggregate.

The following season getting away to a poor beginning knocked him for six coming at the same time as a close family bereavement so Sandy resigned and was an absentee from Junior circles until returning to see out the season at Ardrossan Winton Rovers several months later.

Using his contacts to entice tried and trusted Eddie Walton , Tam Jamieson , Kevin Struthers and Jamie McKenna into a side already boasting Liam and Ryan Caddis, Bobby McColligan and Michael Wardrope gave promise of things to come but the former goalkeeper knew he wasn’t deriving anything like the same enjoyment and opted to call it a day.

He revealed , “The Winton Committee were fabulous , arguably the best bunch of club officials I’d ever worked under ,so it was a real wrench to walk away from them but I knew deep down it was the right thing to do.

“ There’s no going back for me now and I don’t miss the game in the slightest which might surprise people who knew me back in the day but being a full time babysitter for 5 grandchildren doesn’t leave much time for football even though I’m now retired from the Fire Service.

“I’ve also into golf in a big way and my only regret is not discovering it sooner !”

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 1^st APRIL 2023 (2PM unless stated): P.D.M.Buildbase Premier Division. Petershill v Cambuslang Rangers, Rob Roy v Irvine Meadow, Pollok v Troon, Largs Thistle v Darvel, Beith v Arthurlie, Cumnock v Clydebank, Hurlford Utd v Glenafton. PDM Buildbase First Division. Blantyre Vics v St Cadocs, Rutherglen Glencairn v Johnstone Burgh, Benburb v Thorniewood Utd, St Rochs v Shotts Bon Accord, Bonnyton Thistle v Rossvale, Kilbirnie Ladeside v Whitletts Vics.PDM Buildbase Second Division. Ashfield v Greenock, Maybole v Wishaw, ,Craigmark v Renfrew, Muirkirk v Ardeer Thistle, Glasgow Utd v Maryhill, Glasgow Perthshire v St Anthonys.Yoker Athletic v Forth Wanderers, GlasgowUniversity v Kilsyth Rangers . PDM Buildbase Third Division. Lugar Boswell v Ardrossan Winton Rovers, Royal Albert v Carluke Rovers , Finnart v Vale of Clyde, Lesmahagow v Dalry Thistle, Bellshill Athletic v Lanark Utd, Kello Rovers v Larkhall Thistle ,Girvan v Vale of Leven, Irvine Vics v Port Glasgow, Saltcoats Vics v Newmains Utd.PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Harmony Row v Easterhouse, Campbeltown Pupils v Glenvale, BSC Glasgow v Eglinton, Threave Rovers v Thorn Athletic. South Challenge Cup.Quarter Finals. Kilwinning Rangers v Gartcairn, Sauchie v Drumchapel Utd( 2.30PM), Caledonian Braves v Auchinleck Talbot( 3PM), Spartans v Stirling University(3PM).