You had a great start to your career at Stirling Albion, what were some of your favourite memories?
Funnily enough some of my best memories pre-date my debut at Buckie. We used to have some fantastic Sunday afternoons at Annfield playing two and three aside games with me and Big Softy (John Philliben) Charlie McNeil with Albion legends Robert Duffin and Jim Burns, with Alex Smith watching and encouraging from the side(with old Bob Shankly looking down from the stand). I genuinely believe that for all the great coaching I received in my career I learned more in those games than anywhere else.

Do you have a favourite goal you scored for Stirling?
Obviously my first touch on my debut up at Buckie when I scored with a header (I maintain it was from the edge of the box but I am assured from other people that it was about eight yards out.) Also a free kick against the Shire away the Saturday after I had missed two penalties against Cowdenbeath to put us out of the League cup.

Your big money move to Celtic didn’t go quite as planned…what do you think went wrong there?
Nothing really, it was a matter of timing. When I signed Davie Hay told me I wouldn’t play for the first team for eighteen months and I played within six weeks, and in eighteen months Hearts came in to buy Davie Provan who wasn’t for sale but Davie Hay offered me as an alternative. A short time later Davie Provan got M.E. and Davie Hay is on record as saying he regrets selling me. But football is all about timing and I will always be grateful to Alex Smith for selling me to the club I really wanted to play for as I am sure he could have received more money from other clubs for me but he did what was best for me as player and a person. The move to Hearts was not what I wanted at the time but it turned out to be sensational for me.

You had two successful periods with Hearts, in which you won two International Caps, was this the best moment of your career?
If the question is - were the International Caps the best moment, then definitely not. I am proud to have represented my country but deep down I knew that I wasn’t good enough to make that jump to play at that level. I was a very very good club player but to be an International player was tough. The squads I was in were top class with players such as - Stevie Nicol, Graeme Sharp, Miller, McLeish and plus I was in the squad and Davie Cooper wasn’t for some inexplicable reason. But again I am delighted that Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown gave me a chance to pull on that jersey.

Were there never any plans to go into coaching or management?
No, I have never really fancied it for a couple of reasons but the main one being that I went on a coaching course in England with all my team-mates from Sunderland that ended up with me questioning the methods of the teaching. We had set up a throw in and the coach wanted me to set it up in a way that we wouldn’t in a game but was told their way was the only way I would pass even if it was not applicable to what happens in a game, needless to say I walked off . It was too ridiculous for words. It was something we could deal with ourselves but what about all the teachers and boys club coaches that they were teaching this to, what chance does that give the players of the future?!

What do you think of Alan Moore and the current Stirling team?
I think that they have done a fantastic job. I watched both play off games against Airdrie last year and thought that they thoroughly deserved to win. They did everything that was needed. They showed great character, desire, organisation, effort but they also passed it very very well. The problem is that like Derby in the Premiership or Celtic getting through to the last 16 of the Champions League, they are now out of their depth. They are competing against teams with far bigger budgets and resources at their disposal. I think that they are doing as well as they could be expected to be doing. It is not feasible for a team of Stirling’s tradition and stature to invest money they cannot generate to try to get to this mythical next level. They have to ensure that they are here for a long time to come.

Do you still keep in touch with any of your old Albion team mates or colleagues?
Yes, I play golf with Robert Duffin, Robert Dawson, and John Philliben every week. I see Brian Grant occasionally and I see Gordon Dick quite a lot. Alex Smith and George Peebles I see often as well along with Robert Beaton and Alan Skilling at Stirling Golf Club. When I played with Celtic I was warming up as a sub at Aberdeen and got my collar felt by the local policeman but it was okay as it was Allan Moffat when he was just a lowly constable but I am reliably informed he is now running the show at Randolphfield now.

Do you have any memorabilia or souvenirs from your time at Stirling?
I am not a great one for that kind of thing. I like to keep it all in my head but I think I have an old jersey somewhere and the obligatory programmes are in the loft that my mum and dad kept.

For a place the size of Stirling, do you think the Binos should be a bigger and better team?
Not really. People forget that in real terms Stirling Albion is not that old (1945) and it is difficult to catch up as families were already ingrained in other{bigger}clubs by that time and it is difficult to change that. I think the function of a club like the Albion is to be a big part of the community and compete at as high as level as possible. I think that with the sports village coming on at Forthbank there should be some joined up thinking between all parties to make that a part of the future.

If the Albion ever ‘did a Gretna’ and was on the brink of elimination, would you swoop in and save the day?
I would certainly do anything I could because I owe a lot to the club for giving me a fantastic foundation for my career. A lot of that was to do with the people at the time - Alex Smith, George Peebles, Peter Caproni, Duff, and Burnsy but also being a local club was a big attraction for me as we could roll up there every night and on Sundays to learn the game. I had choices when I joined the Albion to go to bigger clubs but my dad and I thought that I could learn there, play in the first team sooner and if I was good enough then I could move on.

I will donate £10 to the charity of your choice if you can somehow manage to mention Stirling Albion on your next episode of Scotsport…what do you say?
My next appearance is on Monday 24th March, my chosen charity is McMillans Cancer Relief and if I don’t manage it before the end of the season I will give double to your charity

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