HEALING POWER
Lowland club model matches up with Strachan’s vision
AS a patr o n of Spartans in his native Edinburgh, the sight of Gordon Strachan’s face poking out from under a hood at East Kilbride’s K Park on Wednesday night hardly came as a huge surprise.
The community-based models of many Lowland League clubs have long been closely aligned to the Scotland manager’s view of how the game in this country can continue to heal itself.
With hundreds of players of both genders from juniors right up to the first team flocking to such clubs each week, there is indeed much t o admire about t he positive impact being made in their respective neighbourhoods.
It can be taken as read that such models will be heavily referenced when Strachan and Brian McClair, the SFA’s performance director, go public with their vision for the future of Scottish football.
More players receiving proper coaching at decent facilities within a safe, inclusive environment: seriously, what’s not to like?
The vast majority of players pulling on a jersey may continue to do so primarily for the love of the game but, if such models are rolled out elsewhere, it is inconceivable the talent pool for the professional game would not be swollen significantly.
Strachan was never likely to amend his squads for the forthcoming friendlies with the Czech Republic and Denmark on the basis of what he saw during East Kilbride’s win over Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale. Yet there was still much that will have been pleasing to his eyes.
Despite a natural nervousness over the prospect of facing Celtic in the next round, both teams played in a fashion that simply could not have been further removed from the blood and thunder traditionally associated with the lower echelons of the Scottish game.
Set-pieces were played short. The triangular passing was sharp and incisive, the tackling occasionally ferocious but never dangerous. Evidently, not all of the grassroots Scottish game is stuck in the 1970s.
And who is to say that — with the correct coaching and support — some kid playing Lowland League football in 2016 can’t yet live the dream and pull on the Dark Blue jersey at Hampden one day? Those saying it can’t be done haven’t been watching Jamie Vardy.
More realistically, the aim for most players at that level is to jump a few rungs on the ladder, in the hope that a Premiership or Championship side might one day take a chance on them.
Jack Smith, scorer of East Kilbride’s spectacular opening goal on Wednesday, was just one of a number of players who would have caught the eye of a string of lower league managers in attendance.
Now on 28 goals for the season, the 21-year- old has pace, vision and a demon of a right foot.
For his father Andy, a Scottish Cup f i nalist with Airdrie in 1992 and 1995, there are countless players in the Lowland League who are only a phone- call away from making significant strides in the professional game.
‘I’ve been travelling all over the country watching Lowland League games and there are a lot of really good players in this division,’ he said.
‘Maybe some don’t want to go into the full-time game but others could easily do it, including a few at East Kilbride. Some clubs have been looking at Jack but we just wanted to get this tie out of the way and then we can see what happens.’
Smith senior scored goals not just for Airdrie but for Dunfermline and Raith Rovers, and never lost sight of the fact that none of it would have been possible had the Diamonds not taken a chance on him.
He hopes his son will soon go down the same path in the nottoo-distant future and envisages a similar success story unfolding.
‘I don’t go on about my exploits too much because it’s all about him now,’ he said. ‘Jack wasn’t on top of his game on Wednesday but it’s always been a sign of a good player when you can score, even though you’re not at your best.
‘He’s 21 and I was the same age when I left Peterhead to join Airdrie in the senior ranks. But that’s where the similarities stop because he’s a far better footballer than I was.
‘He’s not a chip off the old block. Jack is a lot quicker for a start and is a better finisher. He should have a good future in the game.
‘After all these years he’s bored listening to my stories, so I’ll need to listen to his now. I get more nervous watching Jack than I was before games I played in. But at least they can all look forward now to coming up against Celtic.’
If he achieves nothing else in his career, the date with Ronny Deila’s side at New Douglas Park next month is bound to keep Smith j unior’s grandchildren entranced for many a long hour.
If the realistic aim of the fifthround tie i s to bow out with heads held high, the fact the eyes of the world will be on Billy Ogilvie’s players on February 7 will be lost on no one.
‘It’s great for the club,’ said Smith. ‘The prize was huge, of course, but that’s the pressure off. They can go and enjoy it now because it will be a great day for them and financially for the club, which is trying to win promotion to the SPFL.
‘The manager has said it’ll be an education for them, but they’ll still want to put in a good performance.
‘It’s important they show some belief and do themselves justice. But, looking at the bigger picture, the most important thing is the money that will help the club to go forward. The guys who run East Kilbride do a great job and they deserve this.’