Jim hit a winner for Killie – then got a free transfer
Kilmarnock and Aberdeen are teams looking for a fresh start.
The Ayrshire club are desperately fighting to avoid relegation under new boss, Tommy Wright, while the Dons need a new manager to replace Derek McInnes.
It was slightly similar for both clubs 40 years ago.
A victory for Killie at Rugby Park in the middle of March, 1981, effectively ended Aberdeen’s flagging hopes of retaining the league title.
The home side were looking likely to go down with Hearts, but showed they still had a bit of fight in them.
It was, however, a bittersweet weekend for Kilmarnock forward, Jim Doherty.
He was the home fans’ hero but was quickly brought back down to earth with a bump.
“We played well against a very good Aberdeen team, and I got the goal that gave us a 1-0 win,” recalled Jim.
“That made it a good Saturday for us because we hadn’t won too often that season.
“I was pleased to have scored, but I came in on the Monday and our manager, Jim Clunie, told me I was being freed.
“Jim hadn’t been at the club very long, and was obviously preparing for life in the First Division.
“He reckoned I was too wee, and wanted to play with two big strikers.
“It was a blow because I was born and brought up in Kilmarnock. They were my team.
“I remember being raging at the age of six in 1965 because my father wouldn’t let me go to Tynecastle and watch Killie win the championship.
“Instead, I had to stay at home and watch Celtic beating Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup Final on television.”
Although disappointed to be leaving the club he supported, Jim got a move that suited him right down to the ground.
He went on: “Luckily for me, Craig Brown signed me for Clyde and I moved to midfield.
“I learned more from Craig in a few months than I had in five years with Kilmarnock.
“He was a great communicator. He would pose you questions and come up with the answer.
“Football was still like a bit of a jigsaw puzzle in my head, and Craig and helped put the pieces together.
“We had a great group of lads, including Pat Nevin playing his first season in senior football, and won the Second Division championship.
“I spent six great years at Clyde, and I believe I would have been a better player if I’d met Craig Brown earlier in my life.”
Jim does, however, credit his first boss with helping to develop his ability on the ball.
He said: “I went to Rugby Park to sign for Killie, and was thrilled to meet Eddie Morrision. He was a great striker and one of my heroes.
“The manager, Willie Fernie, gave me a £300 signing-on fee.
“I was saying I really didn’t need that but he said: ‘It’s the least I’m allowed to give you’.
“I used to run at speed with my head down, and Willie recognised that wasn’t ideal.
“He gave me a ball to take home, and telephoned my mother to check she was all right about me having it in the house.
“I had to walk about the house, even going up the stairs, with a ball at my feet.
“It really helped me get used to controlling the ball without looking at it. That meant I could play with my head up.”
Jim, now 62, went on to play for Queen of the South and then had a short spell with Stranraer in 1989.
He said: “I played for 12 weeks with a broken leg, and ended up retiring from the game.
“I hadn’t been able to train, and declared myself unfit for a cup tie against Rangers.
“Our manager, Sanny McAnespie, said he really needed my experience at Ibrox and persuaded me to play.
“We lost 8-0 and on the Monday I went to see him in a plaster cast. I think he thought I’d put it on myself!”