THE MORE RELAXED AND NOT GROWLING STEVIE OF TODAY

I’ve never actually asked around however I strongly suspect those of us who came up against Stevie Rankin in his prime are in accord with lyrics from the song Candyman by Christina Aguilera which say “There’s nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm”.

It’s so appropriate given that Stevie was a St Rochs playing legend for nigh on a decade and someone not akin to having a bit of  light hearted banter chatting to opponents out on the pitch only for the endearing smile and engaging nature to  swiftly disappear should the ball arrive in his zone.

That’s when one learned about the other side to  him , the ultra- competitive zealot whose take no-prisoners approach and overwhelming passion to avoid being second-best  would come to the fore in meaty tackles or aerial jousts  and more often than not be played out with ball or man…never both at the same time …making it past his left back berth.

The nowadays 66 year old will doubtless contend his reputation is being sullied by people mixing him up with big brother Stan, who for a time featured in the same Candy Rock backline along with another graduate from the rough and tough academy, Gerry Collins, but there’s another school of thought ( from former front men  with the bruises to prove it ) that reckons whenever six foot plus Stan put in the felling tackles, Stevie would move in and not hesitate to clear ball and man upfield ?.

The irony is that Glasgow born and raised Stevie had a proverbial wand of a left foot and could play a bit albeit that much was never evident in his fledgling years when he attended St Rochs Secondary in the Garngad and played for an underwhelming school team prior to him leaving aged 15 and a half to take up an electrician apprenticeship with City Building who were to be his employers for the next 47 years.

Around that time he turned out for St Thomas Boys Guild Under 16’s and remembers playing alongside Mick Connolly , later to join Hull City before being reinstated at St Anthonys, Michael Jamieson , a striker who played with no little distinction for Stenhousemuir St Rochs , Blantyre Vics and Ashfield , as well as John Fitzpatrick who dropped out of the game without trace following a spell with St Johnstone .

Senior recognition continued to elude Stevie though his Boys Guild performances did catch the eye of renowned talent spotter Sam Beck of Glasgow United under whom he played for a mere six month stint prior to  Sighthill Boys Club manager Eddie McCulloch convincing him to turn out for an Under 18’s side whose star turns were Freddie Brown and the soon to be Partick Thistle, Celtic, Hearts and Falkirk defender  Brian Whittaker.

Stevie excelled at Sighthill over the next two seasons to the extent he was picked to represent Scotland at National League level where he played in the same team as Gerry O’ Neil and future renowned Senior wingers Willie McGuire (Airdrie) and Davie Cooper ( Clydebank, Rangers, and Motherwell).

Stevie had not yet turned 18 when he elected to sign for Renfrew Juniors whose co-managers Davie Hendry and John Pollok immediately thrust him into a fairly experienced team comprising of Peter Kane , Jimmy Quigley, Joe Ward ,Norrie Pate , Andy Clarkston, and tall powerful centreback Brian Smith whom Stevie recalls  was on the verge of joining Rangers or had previously been on the Ibrox books …but can’t remember which ???

THE YOUNG STEVIE (second from right sitting) IN HIS RENFREW DAYS

He recounted, “Renfrew was a terrific  baptism into the Juniors for me however I did only stay the one season before moving to Maryhill in the same summer that coincided with two of their best players Tommy Burns and big Dunky Shields stepping upstairs.

“Matt Tannahill was the team boss and you couldn’t help but like him as he was a straight as a dye guy and a very knowledgeable character into the bargain as you needed to be in order to command the respect of a dressing room containing strongly opinionated types Paddy Turner, John Kay, Sanny Train,  Johnny Naylor and others of a similar ilk.

“The fact I stayed 3 seasons all told tells how much I enjoyed my time at Lochburn though having only one promotion winning season to show for it has to go down as a poor reward considering the quality of players we had at the club back then .”

1978 saw Stevie crank up the intensity of his burgeoning Junior career by allowing the persuasive tongue of feted gaffer Tommy Mulvey to induce him into signing on the dotted line for the  club on his doorstep ,St Rochs, where he was to go on and spend the next ten seasons ,interrupted only by a six month interlude with Glasgow Perthshire.

He was quickly ensconced in a backline comprising of brother Stan, Collins and goalkeeper Willie O’Neil but asking Stevie to nominate the best among his Garngad team mates led to him coming up with an astonishing array of legitimate contenders .

He recalled, “It’s no exaggeration to say that initial spell with the Candy (before moving to the Shire ) which  lasted seven and a bit years was an education from sharing a dressing room with Hugh Cameron, Tommy Donnelly (Simon’s Dad), Peter Mulherron, goalscorer supreme John Mulholland  and another Donnelly (no relation),  Joe , who had previously played with Aston Villa.

“Yet arguably the most influential St Rochs player of that time was Charlie Hazard ,getting on a bit when I joined but  whose old head more than compensated for a lack of pace in his latter years.

“Hughie Farrell , another blessed with wonderful skills ,might have made a similar impact but for his career path resembling  a “boomerang” insofar as I can remember him three times leaving St Rochs for pastures new and three times coming back.”

Playing standards remained every bit as high upon Stevie’s own return to Provanmill Park as you might expect when notable worthies such as  goalkeeper Willie Harvey, Rocky Crichton , Pat Fagan, and Andy Molloy had various spells on the books however trophy success, other than a couple of lower league title triumphs, remained out of reach.

STEVIE AS A PERTHSHIRE PLAYER AGAINST SHOTTS CIRCA 1975

Stevie’s continuing involvement as a St Rochs mainstay heading into his early 30’s was to be severely curtailed on account of a debilitating back injury,  which somewhat worryingly was also beginning to impact on his City Building day job,  yet he nevertheless agreed on a move to Glasgow near neighbours Ashfield when their manager Peter Coleman (ex-Dumbarton) and No 2 John “ The Monk” Conlin made a signing approach.

Stevie recounted, “I would be left unable to move on a Saturday night after playing games and would still be suffering badly at Monday training nights  which did not escape Peter’s attention so the tended to go easy on me during our drills .

“Then at our Player of the Year night towards the end of the season , he  took me aside and said he didn’t want to put me through all the pain and discomfort again and out of the blue he asked if I would be prepared to hang up the boots and come onto his backroom team as a coach.

“I was 34 years of age and jumped at the opportunity however Peter then resigned within a couple of months which left The Monk in charge with me as his assistant and he duly taught me the value of unearthing the best talents from the Juvenile and Amateur ranks because the team we cobbled together went on to win the Central `C ` Division title.”

Recognition of the management duo’s achievements came from an approach by higher league Rutherglen Glencairn challenging them to work their oracle at Southcroft Park where implicit to their rebuilding strategy were a series of further raids on the Juvenile game’s finest as well as transfer fee inducements for  Ashfield stalwarts Willie Paterson, Andy McPherson, John McConville and Neil Young to be reunited with them.

“ The three strikers we brought together at the Glens, Drew McWilliams , Scott Smith and Davie Hardie (ex-Clydebank) are up there with the best I’ve ever seen in the Juniors.” revealed Stevie.  

“On their day, they absolutely  terrorized defences and were hugely instrumental  in us  winning the Central League Cup as well as two promotions though I do believe we were something of a yo-yo team and also suffered a couple of relegations.”

He added, “ Our scouring of  Juvenile games whenever and wherever could be a bit of a chore at times but it soon becomes worthwhile when you are able to bring on board players of the calibre of  Thomas Jarvis, Craig Daly and Paul Quinn(Campsie Black Watch), Kevin Murray (Knightswood) and of course goalkeeper Scott Black ( Wellhouse Amateurs).

Not altogether surprisingly, Conlin and Rankin were now established as a much sought after management team and it was Maryhill championed by their former player Neil Watt (Chairman) who won the race to land the pairing but alas, Stevie’s second time around Lochburn Park stint was to leave something of  a bad taste in his mouth .

He reasoned ,”One of the stipulations placed upon The Monk taking the job  was for him to bring down the average age of the team but no sooner were we in the door than it was pointed out we were also required to reduce the overall wages bill .

“This we did while improving the team by persuading Murray, Quinn, Black and a few more of their likes to join up with us again but the constant rounds of ins and outs did have an effect on results and we did come in for a bit of criticism.

“That said, there were definite signs of the team coming good but unfortunately we lost a West of Scotland Cup game one Saturday against Vale of Clyde that brought matters to a head.

“Before a pre-arranged friendly match on the Monday night John was asked to go and speak with the Maryhill Committee and I remember saying to him `we’re going to be sacked` and he laughed things off but that’s exactly what happened !”

The close friends did nothing other than take in games over the ensuing six months until Conlin , against his better judgement according to Stevie , agreed a deal for them to take up the reins at Benburb, a club in disarray after the closure of their Social Club and whose established star turns Graeme Gaffney, Tony McInally, Frank O’Hara and David Sharkey to name but a few were all unhappy and wanting away.

Stevie admitted , “ We sold on each and every one of the guys  before flooding  Tinto Park with Under 21 players but the inevitable happened and the Bens ended up relegated so the Monk and I walked away after he accepted an offer to take over at Cumbernauld United.

“Managing to convince guys who went on to enjoy more than decent Junior careers , Paul McQuilken, Willie Paterson and Chris Gentile to throw in their lot with us was no easy feat but they soon left as I did when the Cumbernauld people crazily decided to sack The Monk  less than a year in the job .”

One of Stevie’s work colleagues at City Building around that time was a certain Tam Robertson who also doubled as Ashfield’s  Match Secretary and he was pleasantly taken aback when receiving a positive response to asking  if Stevie might be interested in assuming the manager’s chair at the cash-strapped Possil outfit.

Stevie had to laugh when looking back, “ Going out on my own as a manager was a daunting experience and more so when you think Ashfield didn’t even have a set of strips so I brought in Willie Paterson as my No 2 and he stayed by my side for a couple of years before going to Glencairn.

“ That’s when  coaches  Murdie McKinnon, Ian Murphy and goalkeeper guru  Jim Stevenson came in and we duly set about changing the entire philosophy at a club for whom the only way was up given they were sitting rank bottom of the bottom Division of the Junior game.

“ Ashfield’s standing meant we were never going to attract the top Juvenile and Amateur players so we set our sights on the so-called lower reaches  but still managed to come up with a number of real gems such as the West Park United pair Ryan Cairley and Stevie McGladrigan .”

Among others enlisted were Jim Baillie, Martin Gault (Petershill) and Stevie still pinches himself at the thought of being able to field a forward line trio back then of McGladrigan , Paul Maxwell and Paul McDougall.

He scoffed , “ All of them outstanding goalscorers I’ll grant you, but they missed a total of eight penalty kicks between them that first season  which would have made all the difference seeing as we only lost out on promotion by a couple of points.”

Others to arrive on the seemingly conveyor  belt of talent heading into Saracen Park were Tony Chalmers, Ally Martin, Shaun Fraser , Gary McCann (on a recommendation from ex-St Rochs team mate Michael Jamieson), Andy Brand, big Jim Smith and Bert Wright as well as the recruit dubbed by Stevie as his `best ever signing`Mark Thomson .

“ Apart from being an outstanding captain and dead ball expert ,Thommo could and would play anywhere for the team yet he only ended up at Ashfield by the back door “ lauded the former gaffer before continuing, “Willie Paterson had sent me a promising lad by the name of Ian Ritchie who suggested his mate, Thommo from Knightswood Juveniles  might do us a turn and I wasted no time in snapping  him up after hearing just about every other Junior team boss was an admirer.

Stevie ‘s work in progess ensued he spent an undeniably successful ten years at the Ashfield  helm during which the famous old Glasgow club gained four promotions (two of them as title winners) and played in the Finals of four various Cup competitions  , losing in the Central League Cup  to both Pollok and Clydebank , to Irvine Meadow in the West of Scotland Cup before taking the Evening Times Cup honours with a famous Newlandsfield victory over the Medda .

STEVIE AND ASHFIELD SKIPPER THOMMO WITH EVENING TIMES CUP

He admitted , “What epitomized how far we’d taken Ashfield was our first season in the Premier Division, 2012 I believe, when we travelled down to Auchinleck Talbot and were on the wrong end of a  9-1 or 9-2 pumping  yet with only minutes to go , Talbot players were typically not satisfied and were out to notch a tenth goal judging by the way they were rushing to get the ball whenever  it was out of play.

“Losing in that fashion could have totally demoralized a lot of teams but our guys took their medicine as well as a few lessons on board because later that same season  we ran out 3-1 winners on our next visit down there in the West semi-finals and as if to prove that result was no fluke, we then beat Talbot 4-1 at Saracen in the Evening Times Cup.”

The desire to have a shot at managing on of Junior football’s big names saw Rankin move to Irvine Meadow in 2013 and his appointment  almost came up trumps as the Ayrshire side finished runners-up to Premier Division title winners Auchinleck Talbot and were agonizingly beaten in the Scottish Junior Cup semi-finals by Hurlford United .

That first season was to be as good as it got for Stevie even with Ashfield stalwarts Thomson , Maxwell, McCann, Shaun Fraser and goalkeeper Stevie Hall joining him at the Irvine club however his 2 years and a bit tenure was prematurely cut short by his dismissal following an acrimonious fall out with Medda club officials in 2015 .

He succinctly put it , “Not for one minute do I regret my move to Irvine Meadow  as it’s a wonderful club with a lot of great people behind the scenes and both Murdie and I have fond memories of our time there.“

Following his unfortunate Ayrshire demise , Stevie agreed to help out Andy Cameron at St Rochs for a couple of months that quickly turned into a stay of some two and a half years during which he rebuked several club management offers as well as the lure of the Candy Rock .

“ I thought it best to leave Gary Flint to do his own thing and I definitely think he’s the better for it   “ said the Bishopbriggs based Stevie “ Ever since I just pick and choose games to take in on a Saturday and I don’t really care who is playing though I do like to see  St Rochs doing well .   

“I’ve met and got to know some great characters on the Junior scene and still do to this day but getting involved again in any capacity is not something that interests me in the slightest.”

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 13^th MAY 2023 (2PM unless stated. P.D.M.Buildbase Premier Division. Troon v Irvine Meadow, Darvel v  Auchinleck Talbot , Largs Thistle v Pollok, Petershill v Kilwinning Rangers, Arthurlie v Glenafton, Hurlford Utd v Beith, Clydebank v  Rob Roy, Cambuslang Rangers v Cumnock. PDM Buildbase First Division. Cumbernauld Utd v Benburb, Thorniewood Utd v St Cadocs,  Whitletts Vics v Blantyre Vics, Shotts Bon Accord v Rossvale,Johnstone Burgh v Gartcairn, Neilston v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Bonnyton Thistle  v Rutherglen Glencairn, St Rochs v Drumchapel Utd.PDM Buildbase Second Division. Ashfield v Ardeer,Craigmark v St Anthonys, Kilsyth Rangers v Maryhill,Wishaw v Maybole, Muirkirk v Forth Wanderers. PDM Buildbase Third Division. Newmains Utd v Carluke Rovers, Lanark Utd v Port Glasgow, Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Vale of Clyde,Saltcoats Vics v Dalry Thistle , Lugar Boswell v  Vale of Leven , Royal Albert v Girvan, Finnart v  Larkhall Thistle , Irvine Vics v Kello Rovers, Bellshill Athletic v East Kilbride Thistle.

Regards   Jim O’Donnell

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