Full Circle

A trip to Stranraer, such as awaits the Warriors on Saturday, is not just any old away trip. It is, for one thing, a monumental journey which is at least as treacherous as that undertaken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. More importantly, though, it was at Stranraer that I first saw the Warriors in the flesh, way back in 1995, at the tender age of nine.

That fateful day produced a 2-1 defeat, thanks to a wicked deflection one minute from time, but I was hooked. Eight days later, more to the point, the result at Stair Park had paled into insignificance, buried in the reflected glory of 5 November 1995. The victory over Dundee United in the Challenge Cup Final was the crowning moment in the club's history.

Never again, I thought, would a team be so heroic. Never again could a group 11 players capture the imagination in quite the same way. Twelve years later, and only one group has come close - the national team of 2007. After years of suffering, Scotland have proved that we deserve a place at Europe's top table. For once, it is not only Scots who genuinely believe that the Finals will be poorer without us.

And yet we find ourselves managerless once again. As the SFA put their proverbial thinking caps on, names such as George Burley or Craig Levein will hopefully be uppermost in their minds - both would be excellent candidates. To any non-Stenny fans reading this, though, please forgive me for hoping that John Coughlin has to wait until next time; as evidenced by recent results, John is the man to take Stenhousemuir forward.

By all accounts, recent matches have seen the long-awaited return of two crucial characteristics: against Forfar, flambouyance and fluency; against Dumbarton, reslience and determination. Last week's defeat at Montrose brought us back down to earth, but the 'Gable Endies' are a quality side who, a few short weeks ago, would have beaten us much more convincingly. So as we await this Saturday's visit to the place where (for me at least) it all began, here's hoping that, unlike in 1995, we leave Stranraer with a positive result.