HUSTLE & TUSSLE
Emotions running high as Jags boss Paterson pulls no punches in half-time team talk to inspire fightback and avoid relegation
Alan Paterson admits he got emotional after guiding East Kilbride Thistle to league survival on Saturday.
The Jags gaffer was a picture of happiness and relief at the final whistle as Scott Hadden hit a last-gasp winner to earn a 4-3 victory over relegation rivals Forth Wanderers.
It was a day full of drama as the Jags turned up at Kingshill Park believing a draw would be enough to keep them safe, only to discover Forth had appealed against last week’s 2-2 draw with Lesmahagow in which Gow fielded an ineligible player.
The likelihood of Forth being awarded the victory meant the Jags had to win to avoid the drop from the Central District First Division – and they did just that after coming from 2-1 down at the break to win.
But it all got a bit too much for Paterson after his first season in the Showpark hot-seat came to a close. He said: “It’s been such a long season. “The way I was at the end of the game summed up my relief, that all the hard work everyone put in has paid off.
“Mistakes have been made this season not just by the players but by the management team as well. It’s been a learning curve for us all so it was a case of thank god it’s over and we’ve managed to stay up.
“I could feel myself getting emotional about it.
“We’ve been playing Monday, Wednesday, Saturday for a long time and I see these guys more than I see my own kids at times, so it feels great to keep this team up.
“I felt physically and emotionally drained after it – but days like this makes you proud.
“We are the only team in this league that is completely amateur. Nobody gets expenses or anything, it’s all volunteers from the top down so it’s a great achievement for all involved.
“It was a huge relief to win the game, especially with the news we got just before kick-off.”
Paterson took charge in June last year, taking over from Billy Campbell just after Thistle won promotion.
And although he steered the club to the last 32 of the Junior Cup, claiming the scalps of high-ranked sides Girvan and Culter along the way, a league fixture backlog threatened to derail a relatively successful campaign during the club’s 50th anniversary year.
As the games mounted up, Thistle felt the pressure and lost seven league games on the bounce during April and early May.
Playing three times a week, they were drawn into a relegation battle but in their final five games they drew one and earned four straight wins to beat the drop. “When we took over we knew there was a lot of hard work ahead to keep the team in the league,” said Paterson.
“But we always believed we could do it.
“We wanted to get people back watching East Kilbride Thistle and the support we’ve had home and away this season has been brilliant.
“You could see the joy on people’s faces on Saturday and that makes it worthwhile.
“The news before kick-off came as a bit of a shock and I think once we went 1-0 up the boys just froze.
“We were lucky to only be 2-1 down at half-time.
“But we all tore into the players at the break because it wasn’t good enough. Even Billy (Dolan) and John Brown were having a go because all the fight seemed to be coming from us on the sidelines and not the players on the pitch.
“But in the second half we battered Forth and there was a massive change in attitude.” Pics: Karen M Scott