What are your fondest memories of your time at Stirling?
I really enjoyed the majority of my time at the Club and living in the City. The early part when the Albion were in the First Division was probably the best; I was fit then and felt I was playing OK. Towards the end of that season I played through injury and that carried on into the following season. That was a frustrating time for me, it turned out I had a double hernia the whole time but wasn’t diagnosed properly.

You worked under Kevin Drinkell and then John Philliben, how different were their management styles?
I really liked them both as people. Kevin was never too involved in the training side of things but I think he had an ability to pick players and a team. Softy was a very passionate guy who was really determined to succeed at the Albion. He maybe found it a bit difficult trying to carry on playing and managing the team.

What do you remember of your famous goal against Raith Rovers on Boxing Day, when Stirling came from 2-0 behind to win 3-2?
Quite a handy goal in our relegation struggle if I remember right!

You played the full match against Hibs in the Scottish Cup when we won 2-1 in the replay, is that one of your favourite career memories?
That was a good night right enough. It was the highlight of quite a poor season. I think we lost the next league game 5-1 at home to Inverness, which kind of summed up our season.

Gavin Price (front row 3rd from left) and Albion players celebrate in the Forthbank Home Dressing Room after they defeating First Division Hibernian 2-1 at Forthbank on 2nd February 1999 in a Scottish Cup Round Three replay match.

Who were the best and worst players you played with at Stirling Albion?
Alex Bone was one of the best finishers I played with (I still see him from time to time so kind of have to say that!) Paul Deas and Kevin Bain were also excellent players. I don’t think Stirling ever got the best out of Kevin because he was a really good player.

Who is the hardest defender you have ever played against?
Apart from Ronnie McQuilter? Played against Jaap Stam and Nadal while playing abroad, they were not bad I suppose!

You played in Holland for Den Haag and in Hong Kong, how did those moves happen?
I moved to Den Haag from Brechin City when I was 21. They were looking for a “British” style centre forward at the time and I think I was in the right place at the right time; I had a fantastic time there. I moved to Hong Kong after my time at Stirling Albion, Ian Redford, was my agent and had arranged it, it didn’t last long though as the double hernia had become unbearable by then and needed operated on.

As a player, how much different is the standard of football in Holland to Scotland and what you were used to?
Technically the Dutch are quite far ahead. Kids there are trained the proper way from a young age and that really makes a difference.
Tactically it is also different; there is a much more patient approach to football. A lot of your week would involve tactical meetings and discussing formations. This is quite different from the 10 minutes before a game approach in Scotland where you decide who is picking up who at corners!
In defence of Scottish Football though, we do have a better mental approach than the Dutch. We have more aggression and passion in our games which does carry a lot of weight. It is also probably why I had a relatively successful time there.

You now play for Breadalbane FC in Perthshire, you still scoring goals?
Breadalbane is where I started playing about 25 years ago so it is nice to be back playing with my home town club. Alex Bone made his debut recently and managed to score and get sent off! Nothing changes there then eh?

Image Courtesy of Breadalbane AFC

You are heavily involved in youth clubs and grass roots programmes, is that something that is important to you?
Very. Aberfeldy is quite a remote area of Highland Perthshire and has always lacked a coaching and team structure for kids. A lot of good players have come from the area that never got close to fulfilling their potential. We now have 7 youth teams for boys and girls and have kids from 6 years old getting regular training, hopefully in a few years we will see the benefit of that.

Have you seen the current Stirling Albion play this season and what do you make of the current squad?
They are doing well as a part time team to hold their own in the First Division. I don’t know much about the squad but always watch for their results and hope they can stay up.

What are your plans for the near future in football?
I’m working part time with the SFA at the moment, developing Clubs in Perth and Kinross. I really enjoy doing this and can use my experience of playing and coaching in Holland to good effect. I worked through a lot of my SFA coaching courses while playing for the Albion and will probably want to go further with this and hopefully coach or manage in the future.

Many thanks to Gavin Price for taking the time to do the interview with the Official Website and our contributor.