Historic Scottish football club to allow fan to take charge of league game

Former Rangers and West Ham striker Clark, has previously managed Partick Thistle, Hearts and St Johnstone during his managerial career among others while his replacement this weekend has only ever managed on a computer game.

Albion Rovers currently it eighth in the Lowland League having been relegated from the SPFL in 2023. Now as part of the BBC show ‘A View From The Terrace’, McKay’s role as manager for the day will be documented as part of it.

There is a popular segment on the show called ‘Put a Shift In’ where BAFTA-winning filmmaker Duncan Cowles follows his namesake as he tries out different jobs across Scottish football including things such as being a mascot, ballboy, tannoy announcer, kit man and groundskeeper.

This will be his first time in the dugout and he’s hoping to draw on his experiences of playing Football Manager, where he won the European Cup with Accrington Stanley.

He said: “I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life. Most fans think they can do a better job than the manager, so I’m going to put it to the test. I was happy to ask Albion Rovers if they’d let me manage the team because I never thought they’d actually let me do it. Now it’s a reality, I’m pretty nervous, to be honest.

Duncan McKay will take charge of the game on Saturday (Image: Jeff Holmes)

“Let’s see if all those hours spent playing Football Manager and shouting my expert opinion from the stands and at the TV work in reality. I look forward to meeting the team — I hear they’re a great bunch of lads.

“I’ve been trying to get into the headspace of being a manager for the last few days. Football is a funny old game, and at the end of the day, it’s all about getting the three points. But if we don’t win, we’ll dust ourselves off and go again. Well, I won’t, as I am only boss for a day, but you know what I mean.”

McKay will take full control – from picking the team to tactics to the half time team talk. 

Albion Rovers board member Ben Kearney commented: “Everyone at Albion Rovers is delighted to welcome Duncan as boss for this weekend’s Park’s Motor Group Lowland League fixture against Hearts B. 

“It is the perfect opportunity for Duncan to get his foot in the door against the Wee Jambos and we are expecting big things. No pressure, but we won our last match at The Reigart Stadium 5-0! Six will do nicely on Saturday.

“We have kept a close eye on Duncan’s fledgling football career so far, and having seen him excel at several different roles across a host of clubs over the past few years – we have full faith that he can handle the step up to management. 

“We are big fans of the show at the club, so when they got in touch, we were intrigued. ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has changed the game for football clubs like ours — you have to think differently. Football managers have a tough time — everyone thinks they can do it, but it’s a much more difficult job than people realise.

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“We’ll be holding our breath on Saturday and while we hope he’ll do the business, we look forward to welcoming Sandy back to the hot seat next week.” 

A View From The Terrace has been shown on BBC Scotland since 2019 and attracted widespread acclaim, particularly for their short films on unique parts of Scottish football including sheep taking over pitches in Eriskay.

The programme is produced by BAFTA-nominated production company Studio Something and filmed in Edinburgh. It began as a podcast recorded in creator and panellist Craig Fowler’s bedroom, and presented by Craig G Telfer. Its panellists are a rotating cast of regular football fans, including Graeme Thewliss, Tony Anderson, Robert Borthwick, Amy Canavan, Shaughan McGuigan, and Joel Sked. 

The documentary short of Duncan’s experience as boss at Albion Rovers will feature on next week’s episode, airing Friday night on BBC Scotland at 10:30 pm.