GLENS IN THE TROPHY HUNT

PETER FERGUSON

Rutherglen Glencairn Under -21s have been no strangers to silverware since their inception in 2010, when co-managers Alex McArthur and Andy McFadyen were persuaded to move to The Celsius Stadium along with newly appointed boss Willie Harvey.

Since then “the young Glens” have won every trophy there is to win in West of Scotland Under-21 football, including a dramatic treble of trophies in 2013.

The “Holy Grail” for McArthur and McFadyen was the Scottish Cup, and they completed their trophy collection with a triumph in the final in 2017.

This season, however, has the potential to be the most successful yet, as Glencairn Under-21s are sitting top of the Premier League and are in the semifinals of the Scottish Cup and the Golden Goals Cup, as well as the quarter-final of the West of Scotland Cup.

Alex said: “We want to win them all, obviously, and we’ll give it our best shot. We’ll take it one game at a time and see where it takes us.”

When asked how this squad compares to the successful squads of previous years, the pair insisted they are certainly up there in comparison.

Andy added: “It’s really hard to compare squads over the years.

“We’ve seen so many players come through the ranks at under-21 level, and some of them go on to have successful junior or senior careers, and others seem to drift away for whatever reason.

“We get enormous pleasure and pride out of seeing these boys going on to better themselves, particularly the ones who step up to the first team and hold down a place.

“We look at the current first team squad and we’re delighted to see Del Esplin, Sean McGuire, Callum McRobbie, Harry Mitchell and Dale Simeon, all of whom have been part of our set-up over the years.”

Alex and Andy are more than just under-21 coaches, though, and both play a full part in the running of the whole club.

Alex combines his coaching role with being President of Rutherglen Glencairn, while Andy is also a committee member and spends many hours at the stadium providing vital assistance to head groundsman Eddie Smith.

For more information on all of the teams at Rutherglen Glencairn (1st team, Under 21s, Under 19s,Under 16s and Under 14s) see the club website at rutherglenglencairn.webs.com