One of Scotland’s oldest clubs appoints fan as boss after manager stands aside

THEY’RE one of Scotland’s oldest ever football clubs – with an appearance in the Scottish Cup final in their back pages.

But there will be a remarkable new first at Albion Rovers this Saturday when they let a FAN take charge of a match.

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The Coatbridge side are facing Hearts B in a mid-table Lowland League clash and Jambos legend Sandy Clark – the Wee Rovers’ usual manager – has agreed to stand down for the day.

Instead the selection, tactics and team talk will be done by Duncan McKay, a Hibs fanatic, with the whole thing filmed for BBC Scotland‘s A View from the Terrace show.

McKay, whose previous claim to fame is said to be managing Accrington Stanley to a European Cup win in the Football Manager computer game, has previously been filmed trying out various other different jobs across the weird and wonderful landscape of Scottish football.

He’s been mascot, ballboy, tannoy announcer, kit man, and groundskeeper but this is his first time taking charge of a team.

Rovers’ squad contains a mix of grizzled veterans and young players, some on-loan from bigger clubs like St Johnstone and Motherwell, making their way in the game.

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.

“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.”

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

Albion Rovers board member Ben Kearney said: “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.

“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.”

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