Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Finishing my career at boyhood idols Airdrie is best way to bow out
Iain Russell has thanked the Airdrie fans after announcing his retirement from football.
The 34-year-old was a key figure for the Diamonds last season, scoring 19 goals in all competitions and captaining the side in the absence of Marc Fitzpatrick.
The forward finished as Airdrie’s second top scorer last season, with his tally only bettered by Andy Ryan.
Russell confirmed his decision with the New Broomfield management last week.
Russell has taken the decision to allow him to spend more time with his family after accepting a full-time position with KSL Hair. Russell began his senior career at Motherwell, and enjoyed spells at Dumbarton, Brechin, Morton, Livingston and Queen of the South.
He also had loan spells at Stirling Albion and Alloa.
He admits it is one of the toughest decisions of his life but felt the time was right to take a step back from the game.
“It is a bit gutting to finally have to make the decision,” he conceded.
“Since playing at Queen of the South I have been balancing football with work, and I got an offer to go full-time at KSL and it felt like the right time to take it.
“It’s a really hard decision, but being able to spend more time with my family was at the core of it.
“I loved playing for Airdrie. It was a dream come true for me and the perfect way to end my career at my boyhood club.
“It was a bit of an up and down season for us on the pitch.
“At times we were inconsistent and I wish I could have done more, but there was a really good dressing room.”
He admits that his one regret is not being able to take Airdrie out of League One after penalty shoot-out defeat to Alloa.
“Personally, I was desperate to win that semi-final and go up.
“In the back of my mind I knew there was a chance it could be my last game. That was my one real disappointment.
“But I’ll be back to watch Airdrie soon as a fan.”
It’s a hard decision but I’ll get to spend more time with my family