Rutherglen Glencairn F.C.

Rutherglen Glencairn

Full name	Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Glens
Founded	1896
Ground	The Clyde Gateway Stadium, Rutherglen
Ground Capacity	1,500
Manager	Willie Harvey (2010–present)
League	West of Scotland Super League First Division
2012–13	6th
Home colours Away colours

Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed The Glens and formed in 1896, they play at The Clyde Gateway Stadium.

Glencairn's most recent trophy successes include the Stagecoach Central District League Division One championship in the 2008–09 season and the Stagecoach West Region Super League Division One title in the 2009–10 season. The latter gave the club the right to compete in the West Region Super Premier League for the first time in the 2010–11 season.

Willie Patterson and Scott Smith managed the club jointly from October 2005 until they left at the end of the 2010–11 season. The club is currently managed by Willie Harvey and coached by Robert Torrance and Joe Pryce. It competes in the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association.

Stadium

The club plays its home games at the Clyde Gateway Stadium, also known as New Southcroft Park since it was built after the original Southcroft Park was demolished in 2007 to make way for the M74 motorway extension into central Glasgow.^[1] The original ground had survived for 110 years and was the oldest junior football ground in Scotland when it closed. The new ground was officially opened in July 2008 with a friendly match between Rutherglen Glencairn and Clyde F.C.^[2]

In August 2009, the club signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with local urban regeneration company Clyde Gateway to sponsor New Southcroft Park for two years, and it was renamed the Clyde Gateway Stadium. This arrangement was extended for another two seasons in 2012.^[2] Rutherglen Glencairn entered discussions with Clyde F.C. in 2012 about the possibility of sharing the stadium.^[1] Although the changing facilities are modern, other things would need improvement to meet Scottish Football League regulations.^[1] The proposal was eventually dropped by Clyde in favour of a proposed move to East Kilbride.^[3]

Current squad

As of 1 September 2013.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Kevin Bell GK Laith Al Naeme DF Brian Eadie DF Willie McCulloch DF George Moore DF Andy Neil DF Neil Schoneville DF Nadeem Zeb MF Del Esplin MF Kris Irvine MF Dean Muir

No. Position Player MF Ross Ballantyne (captain) MF Joe McAlpine MF Nicky Sullivan MF Sean McGuire FW Ross Cumming FW Mark McCarry FW Denis McLaughlin FW Kieran Downs FW Jamie Docherty FW Gavin Ross FW Callum McRobbie

Non-playing staff

The non-playing staff of Rutherglen Glencairn as of are:

Honours

Scottish Junior Cup

Scottish Junior Cup

• Winners (4): 1901–02, 1918–19, 1926–27, 1938–39^[4]
• Runners-up (2): 1966–67, 1974–75

Other Honours

• Stagecoach West Region Super League Division One champions (1) : 2009–10
• Central District League champions (1) : 2008–09
• Glasgow League winners (4) : 1898–99, 1901–02, 1918–19, 1921–22
• Central League champions (3) : 1933–34, 1942–43, 1966–67
• Central League B Division winners (1) : 1974–75
• Glasgow Junior Cup winners (5) : 1899–1900, 1923–24, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1942–43
• Glasgow Dryburgh Cup winners (1) : 1939–40
• Central League Cup winners (1) : 1998–99
• Central Sectional League Cup (2) : 1991–92, 2007–08

Final League Positions

Rutherglen Glencairn's recent final league positions are shown in the table below:

Cup Progression

Rutherglen Glencairn's recent cup progress is shown in the table below:

2009–10 Championship Winning Team

After winning the 2008–2009 Central District League Championship, Glencairn entered Stagecoach Super League Division One with the almost the same team in 2009–10. They won this too, thus securing a place in the Stagecoach Super Premier League for the first time. The 2009–10 winning side was:

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Scott Black GK Steven McNeil DF David Barr DF Lee McShane DF Graham Dale DF Kenny Hadden DF Jamie Prunty DF Craig Palmer MF Davie Dickson (captain)

No. Position Player MF Richie Burke MF Paul Thomson MF Tony Fraser MF Chris Gentile MF Ryan McArdle MF Chris Hopkins MF Stephen O'Keane FW Paul McDougall FW Stephen McGladrigan FW Paul McLaughlin

Soon after the end of the 2009–10 season, Glencairn's joint managers moved to new managerial positions elsewhere and several players from the 2009–10 team followed them.

Youth Development

Willie Harvey became the new manager before the start of the 2010–11 Super Premier League Season and established under-21 and under-19 teams under youth team manager Alex McArthur. The under-21 team competes in West of Scotland Under 21 League Division One, and the under-19 team in the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District League. To emphasise the importance of youth development, Harvey said, "Every now and again you find a real gem. Somewhere down the line you will find someone who can have a good, strong career. We want to be the side that clubs are trying to poach players from but at the same time we will have first dibs on the best players coming through."^{[citation needed]}

The 2012-13 season was one to remember for the young glens. Managers Andy McFadyen and Alex McArthur as well as coach George Fortheringham led the 21s to winning the treble, a historic moment for the club. An unforgettable night at Glencairn's home pitch saw a Rutherglen last minute equaliser against Knightswood in the final game of the season clinch the West of Scotland Premier League for the first time in the clubs history. The glens also went on to win the League Cup in style after defeating Goldenhill in a 4-1 encounter played at Shettleston. Finally the boys wrapped up an emphatic season with a penalty shoot out victory against Knightswood in the West of Scotland cup final.

Notable former players

• Sammy Baird
• Joe Donnachie
• Rob McKinnon
• Archie Robertson
• Bernie Slaven
• Jimmy Soye
• Bobby Ward

References

External links

• Official club website
• Under-21 team website