I pitched up at my local just after I’d won the cup for United
Now McLaren faces battle to save Barlia
From winning the Scottish Cup Final for Dundee United on the plush green surface of Hampden.
To going up against a side from the Gorbals with his Castlemilk mates on the new local Astroturf.
That’s how Andy McLaren rolled back in the day.
People might wince at the thought of a future Scotland player risking his whole career for a glorified kick-about.
But McLaren just loved the game. And if there was a chance to play on the closest pitch to his house with pals, he was there.
That working- class attitude has never left him.
And the same goes for other players from one of Glasgow’s toughest housing estates who made it as a pro.
Frank and Eddie Gray, Ray Houghton, Jim McInally – all internationals who hailed
from
Castlemilk. More recent ones such as McLaren, Charlie Miller, James McCarthy and Calvin Miller all used to play on that Barlia pitch.
But right now, the current batch of kids from the area can’t get in. The gates are padlocked and, more depressingly, the goals have been removed.
After lockdown and Barlia Football Centre’s use as a Covid testing centre, it’s one of the Glasgow City Council facilities that won’t be reopening due to financial cut-backs.
Desperate pleas from locals have so far fallen on deaf ears and that has prompted McLaren and others to speak up.
He used to run his own charity that offered free football and dancing lessons, as wel l as food, to underprivileged kids in schemes such as Castlemilk.
The former Uni ted and Kilmarnock winger found himself banging his head against
a brick wall regularly when dealing with the authorities.
But as we emerge from a second lockdown, he insists it’s vital facilities like Barlia around the country are kept open to get kids active again.
McLaren told MailSport : “I played in the Scottish Cup Final for Dundee United, winning 1- 0 over Rangers in May 1994 at Hampden.
“And in June there was a big Castlemilk tournament where local sides would face teams from places like the Gorbals and elsewhere in the city.
“I was with all of my mates so wanted to play. It was only about a fortnight after I was in the cup f inal but the boys were al l playing so I was as well.
“People might f ind that strange but that’s just how much I loved playing football. And it showed how much my local community meant to me.
“The game was at Barlia and because of who it was against, I wanted to be part of it. I knew they wouldn’t kick me!
“I’ve also played various charity games on that pitch over the years.
“It’s a hub for the local community. But it’s been shut for a while now and I just don’t understand it.
“The number of players who have come out of Castlemilk over the years is incredible.
“And now the one main pitch used by the whole community is being closed down.
“Volunteers up here have been helping to feed vulnerable, underprivileged kids in the area – and they can use Barlia as a base.
“There’s a social responsibility side to this as well.”
McLaren fought and won battles of his own as a player off the pitch during a career that eventually got him a senior Scotland cap.
Post-Covid, he believes young people across Scotland will need exercise, sport and community in their fight with mental health.
That’s why he’s bemused that council chiefs are allowing a facility at the heart of a housing estate to l ie derel ict and vandalised. And as a result of that, he fears that Scottish football as a whole will suffer, with talented players being lost to the game.
He said: “We’re talking about getting kids fit again and improving their mental health.
“But in Castlemi lk the authorities are closing down the one facility and community asset they’ve got.
“Football is at the heart of everything and that’s why the pitches at Barlia are vital.
“Because it’s Castlemilk, a work ing- class area, they don’t care.
“Look over at Scotstoun Leisure Centre, which is back open, all singing and all dancing. That’s the difference.
“Maybe Barlia doesn’t make enough money. But is that what it’s all about?
“It should be about more than that. It’s about people’s physical and mental health.
“I’ve been banging on about these issues for the last 15 years. But it never improves. If anything, it gets worse and the prices for pitches continue to go up.
“I can’t get my head around it. There has to be other ways of making cuts, as opposed to taking the legs of a whole community away.
“This is a place that ’ s produced Scotland and Ireland internationals in the past 30 years. I just don’t get it.
“And I think there will be a generation of young players lost to the game as a result.
“Kids from under-sevens to under-15s have missed at least a year of football due to Covid restrictions.
“So there could be a lost generation if players just decide not to go back after lockdown.
“I know it sounds dramatic but we might have lost the next big star as a result of this.
“And Scotland, as a nation, can’t afford to do that.
“Football is the national sport but the Scottish Government and the people in charge don’t seem to care about that.”
Football’s at the heart of everything
.. so pitches ar e vital