Killie call caught Lee on the hop but set him on the right road
Lee Ashcroft admits he does not know what he would be doing with his life right now if he had not received a phone call out of the blue from Kilmarnock.
At the time, he was a typical teenager, having left school to go to college and was happy just playing football with his mates at Hillwood Boys’ Club.
Ashcroft’s team had just lost a cup final to Edinburgh City when he was stunned to be asked to come in for pre-season at Rugby Park by Killie youth coach Alan Robertson.
That eventually led to the offer of a contract with Killie, with Ashcroft ultimately spending five years at the Ayrshire club before making a move to Dunfermline.
After leaving the Pars last summer, the big central defender was snapped up by Dundee boss, James Mcpake.
Now, Ashcroft is looking forward to his first taste of the Dundee derby experience in front of a capacity crowd at Tannadice.
However, the 28-year-old admits his life could have been so different if it hadn’t been for that fateful phone call.
Ashcroft said: “I was playing with Hillwood BC in Pollok, Glasgow, until I was 16, and we met Edinburgh City in a Youth Cup Final.
“It was some game and we lost 5-3, I think, but I must have done something right!
“I got a phone call from Kilmarnock after that game, asking if I would come in for pre-season.
“I had a two-week trial, and then I signed full-time straight from there.
“I had not long left school, and I was at college down in Ayr on a sports course.
“To be honest, I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if I wasn’t in football.
“The call came at the right time for me.”
Ashcroft hopes that what happened to him can act as a spur to present-day youngsters, and show that just because you have not been part of a club academy system, you can still make it as a professional footballer.
He added: “Back then, I was happy playing boys’ club with my mates.
“A lot of pro youth clubs can get a hold of you, and you can’t play with your school and stuff like that.
“It was my decision. My parents never made me go to pro youth, and I was happy where i was.
“If I was to give advice to young boys I would say: ‘Look at me. It’s never too late for you if you keep working hard’.”
Ashcroft is now one of the first names on the Dundee team-sheet, and was a key player as the Dark Blues secured promotion through the play-offs last season.
Mcpake’s men have made a decent start to life back in the Premiership, but are still searching for their first win after five games.
And Ashcroft admits the derby would be the perfect time to break that duck.
He said: “100%. It is one we are looking forward to, so hopefully we can go there, put on a good performance, and secure three points.
“Obviously we would have liked a win by now. The performances have been there, so the sooner we can turn them into victories the better. Hopefully we can go down there and do that .”