St Mirren Hall of Famer Barry McLaughlin vividly remembers just how excited he was to line up against superstars Paul Gascoigne and Henrik Larsson.
Now he’s on the hunt for local businesses to help sponsor Paisley club Glenvale to give their youngsters the best chance of following in his footsteps.
McLaughlin spent 10 years with the Buddies, leading them as captain in his last season, and as a defender regularly tested himself against the best forwards in the country.
The 49-year-old is now the boss of Glenvale’s under-20s development team and is determined to help give Paisley kids the same chance he had to carve out a career in professional football.
But McLaughlin insists they can only do that if Glenvale pick up some much-needed financial support off the pitch.
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He told Express Sport: “I came in in September and the team was in a bad state of affairs, financially and on the pitch.
“We’ve managed to improve things on the park, but we’re looking for sponsors because we really need some support from local businesses to help what we’re trying to do.
“We’re trying to help boys build a football career and these young boys have had a hard time over the last few years.
“They need that opportunity to progress and we can give them that here.
“I have some brilliant memories from my football career. With St Mirren I played against the likes of Gazza and Larsson and you never forget anything about those clashes.
“I played in front of crowds of 60,000 at Ibrox and Celtic Park against some of the world’s best players and it was a dream come true for me.
“We want to give Paisley kids the chance to climb the ladder and replicate that, or even go on and do even better.
“But we can’t do that unless we have the money to pay for strips, equipment, travel and everything we need to give them that opportunity to play and improve.”
While McLaughlin came through the Saints Academy ranks, there are plenty of examples of young players that make their way into the professional game without coming through the pro-youth ranks.
And the ex-Saints ace insists the route has never been more open for Paisley kids hoping to be the next John McGinn or Andy Robertson.
McLaughlin said: “Players don’t always come through professional academies. Some families can’t afford to have their kids attend pro-youth clubs, with the amount of training and trips involved.
“James Grady came through at Arthurlie and Clydebank and went on to have a brilliant career in Scotland. If you look at the likes of Jamie Vardy down south as well, it shows it can be done and there’s no one route into the professional game.
“Andy Robertson showed how much can be achieved when he dropped out of the Celtic setup and worked tremendously hard at Queen’s Park. That set up the career he’s went on to have.
“We are located right in the heart of Ferguslie, less than a mile from St Mirren ’s stadium. The ultimate ambition of a lot of our players is to play for the Saints.
“The structure is now there with the Lowland League feeding into the SPFL. Our development team feeds into the Glenvale senior team and from there the sky is the limit.
“Players can work their way up the divisions and ultimately end up as full-time professional players.
“That’s our dream, but we need help to make that happen. Without the opportunity and the exposure, these kids unfortunately don’t stand much of a chance.”
Renfrewshire businesses or local people looking to support or sponsor Glenvale’s under-20’s development team can get in touch via their social media pages - @GlenvaleU20s on Twitter or glen.valeu20s on Instagram.
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