I was so nervous meeting Tommy, but I knew then I wanted to play under him

Ex-striker Graham on how aura of late Celtic great convinced him to join Rovers

Mark Pirie

Former Albion Rovers hitman Ally Graham has revealed that the“presence” of Lisbon Lion and ex-Cliftonhill boss Tommy Gemmell convinced him to trade the top flight for life in Scottish football’s bottom tier.

The former Rovers striker paid tribute to his former manager, who passed away last week at the age of 73 after a battle with illness.

Gemmell, part of the Celtic side which lifted the European Cup, enjoyed two spells in the Cliftonhill dugout.

He took over Rovers for the 1986-87 season, before returning for the 1993-94 campaign.

During his decade as a player at Celtic, Gemmell also won six league titles, three Scottish Cups and four League Cups.

The full-back also won 18 Scotland caps and made World Cup appearances.

Graham (below) signed for Gemmell’s Albion Rovers from Clydebank, who had been playing in Scotland’s top flight.

An 18-year-old Graham made the move to the Second Division side Rovers in 1987 and admitted the Hoops legend was a huge deciding factor in the switch.

He said that as soon as he entered Gemmell’s office, he knew he was a man he wanted to play for.

“I was playing for Clydebank and I heard Rovers had an interest. After meeting Tommy, I knew right away that I wanted to join,” he told the Advertiser.

“He had a real presence. I’ll always remember going into his office and being really nervous about meeting him, but after that I had no hesitation in signing. He was just a really good guy to work with, and a great guy, personally. He carried himself well and had great man-management skills. “A lot of the boys on the dressing room joined Rovers because of Tommy. We all looked up to him. “You could tell he cared about the boys.” Following Gemmell’s departure, Rovers went on to lift the Second Division title, and Graham would go on to score over 100 career goals for the likes of Ayr United, Stirling Albion and Raith Rovers. Ally feels the manager put down foundations for success in Coatbridge, and feels he owes a lot of his personal success in the game to the Celtic icon. “He knew the game inside and out and between him and Davie Provan they really built something there,” said Graham. “At the time, Rovers weren’t really fancied as a club, but we had a good squad. “Rovers went onto win the title just a couple of years later, so I think it shows that he had brought in a squad of some great young players. “For me, I owe Tommy a lot for taking the chance on me. He signed me for nothing and taught me a lot about the game. How I should train, how I should play as a striker, a lot. “He helped me progress and when I retired I had over 700 career appearances. I don’t think I would have got there without Tommy.” In a club statement, Albion Rovers also paid tribute to their former boss, adding: “Tommy was a Scottish great from being one of the Lisbon Lions in 1967 to managing the Rovers on two separate occasions. “Our thoughts are with Mary and Tommy’s family and friends at this difficult time.”