THE OLD ONES ARE THE BEST
Trouten’s never felt so inn love with game aat age of 35
Most weekends, the name flashes up at the bottom of your TV screen on Jeff Stelling’s Soccer Saturday.
Alan Trouten.
And most Scottish football fans probably take it for granted.
For Queen’s Park, Clyde, Airdrie, Ayr United (twice), Brechin City (twice), Albion Rovers and Alloa Athletic, he has always scored.
In 457 starts, he has bagged 176 goals. That’s one every 2.6 games for the xG hipsters.
At 35 years of age, Trouten should be ready for the SPFL knackers yard.
Instead, the part-timer is still finding the back of the net in the Championship – and plans to have Jeff calling out his name for a few seasons yet.
So what keeps him motivated to go out and train every Tuesday and Thursday night on Alloa’s plastic pitch?
Or to use up his Saturday with a 12-hour shift to the Highlands to face Inverness Caley Thistle?
His family, obviously. But also a deep love for the game that is stronger at 35 than it ever was at 25.
Trouten told Mai lSport : “Apart from my wife and wee girl, football is my life. As I’ve got older, I enjoy it even more.
“I love this game as much now as I’ve ever done. And I appreciate it more.
“I watch every game on TV. My wife Kerrie goes bonkers and my wee one Lucy will say: ‘Not football again, daddy.’
“But I’m still enjoying it. And when you enjoy something it makes it easier. I ’ ve probably hit my peak when I’m too old. A lot of people just see your age.
“An d i t ’s strange to be in my best form so late in my career. I’ll be 36 in November but I’ve a few years left in me yet.
“I’m still playing in the Championship and don’t feel like I’m not good enough for this level.
“Whoever is g iving out contracts might feel different. But I want to keep going and play for as long as I can.” Trouten probably should have played at a higher level in the SPFL. At Ayr, former team- mate Mark Roberts said he was like a puppeteer, pulling strings all over the pitch. The nickname Puppets has stuck. But at t imes Trouten has been his harshest critic. He said: “Why I’ve not achieved more in my career is on me. I’ve never won anything, I don’t have a medal to my name. “At Clyde I was only 22 and still living at home. I was at Broadwood for 10am and home for 12.30pm. Instead of doing extra work, I was watching TV.
“You get sucked into the football lifestyle. As you get older, you wish you’d donee it differently.
“I still toil a bit on a Saturday or a Tuesday night when I’ve had a s**t game. For a day or two, I struggle mentally.
“When I was younger, I’d let it dwell on me for days.
“That could spiral into weeks and, before I knew it, I’d struggle to get out of it. Again, you learn as you get older. You have to put it to the back of your head.
“I do that better now. Lucy is there on a Saturday when I get home to take my mind off it.
“Before I’d act like a d*** to Kerrie. I can only imagine the stuff she’s had to put up with. I can’t be that guy any more.
“But I missed a penalty against Raith the other week and was so angry with myself.
“I couldn’t sleep for a few days, just constantly thinking about it. That’s just the way I am.
“People will probably ask why I didn’t playl hihigherh anddththey’re’ right.iht I blame myself for that.”
Trouten is still highly thought of at all of his former clubs, which says a lot about him.
After impressing at Queen’s Park as a kid – his penalty knocked Aberdeen out of the League Cup – he went to Clyde.
He enjoyed purple patches at Brechin then Albion Rovers in 2017, when he hit 28 in 39 games and earned his move to Alloa.
But a pivotal moment in his career might have been a trial against Newcastle United for Shamrock Rovers in 2009.
Not only did it give him a taste of competing against top players, he then missed out on a glamour European tie. He said: “A deal was practically done before I went over to Ireland.
“It was only meant to be for three days but it turned into a week. I ended up wearing my boxerb shorts inside out. NewcastleN had just been relegatedre from the Premier LeagueLe and had Damien Duff, JoeyJo Barton, Nicky Butt, Kevin Nolan,No boys like that.
“I thought I’d be the same sizesiz as Duff. But he was a head biggerbig than me, plus three timestim my width.
“I thought I was going to smashsma players but couldn’t get near them. I was injuring myself tryingtryi to kick them.
“I was supposed to sign an 18-mmonth deal with Shamrock but they changed it to a few monthsmon so it wasn’t worth it.
“I came home and signed for AirdrieAird instead. The next week RoversRov had a friendly against Real Madrid when Cristiano Ronaldo had just signed.
“I was choking to hang about but I missed out.
“Sometimes when you’re having a good spell, you think you can take on anyone.
“Then you come up against certain players and realise they’re at a different level.
“I played in a bounce game at Rangers’ training centre for Queen’s Park. I thought Bert Konterman was murder at the time and that I’d slaughter him.
“Then I played against him and he was unbelievable.
“He never got out a jog and would put balls on boys’ toes. He was scary. When you watch football, it looks so easy.
“But when you try to play, you realise how difficult it is.
“That’s why I’m pleased still to be playing at the level I’m at. And I’m not finished yet.”
I’ve probably hit my peak when I'm too old.. people when just see your age