John Sutton was only a young boy when he first heard of a Scottish club that would go on to play a huge part in his football career.
His father, Mike, was a talented midfielder for his hometown team Norwich City, playing alongside legendary St Mirren Scottish Cup-winning forward Tommy Bryceland in the mid-60s.
It was through Bryceland and his dad’s connection on the pitch at Carrow Road that Sutton became aware of the Paisley Saints.
Little did he know that he would one day go on to not only lift silverware multiple times with the Buddies, but also join the club’s best ever players in the St Mirren Hall of Fame.
Sutton admits the announcement earlier this month that he would join the likes of Tony Fitzpatrick, Billy Abercromby, David Lapsley and Bryceland in the coveted club came as a bit of a shock.
But the former St Mirren hitman, who notched 45 goals across two successful spells with the club, is delighted to be inducted in what he describes as a “huge honour”.
Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, Sutton said: “I’m hugely proud to be going into the Hall of Fame.
“It’s incredibly humbling because there’s a lot of great players who are there and a lot of very good ones who aren’t as well.
“My first connection to the club came from my dad, who played at Norwich City with Tommy Bryceland.
“That was the first time I ever heard of St Mirren.
“I had no concept of the club before then, so it was funny how it worked out with me then joining the club later on.
“I don’t know the club’s history as well as some, going back to the 70s and 80s, but I know now that St Mirren are, historically, a very successful club with a terrific following. So it’s a big achievement for me.
“It’s nice to know that a club thinks that highly of you, especially when you see yourself alongside some of your former teammates.
“I played with a lot of very talented guys in my time in Paisley. Guys like David van Zanten, Billy Mehmet, Lewis Morgan, Stevie Mallen and Simon Lappin.
“We enjoyed some great success together, so it is a huge honour to be going into the Hall of Fame alongside some of these names.”
Sutton made an instant impression when the Englishman moved to St Mirren from Millwall back in August, 2005.
As well as finishing as the Paisley club’s top scorer in their 2005/06 Championship-winning season with 14 strikes to his name, he also scored a dramatic late winner in the Buddies’ 2-1 2006 Challenge Cup final win against Hamilton.
The 38-year-old admits his first season with Gus MacPherson’s side couldn’t have gone much smoother, with the second also ending sweetly as he bagged two crucial goals in a last-day victory over Motherwell to stay in the top flight.
Sutton said: “I had two spells with St Mirren and my first I probably best remember from winning the Challenge Cup.
“There aren’t many players who go on to win silverware, so to score the winning goal in a final was a really perfect start for me.
“We also went on to win the league that year, so it couldn’t have started much better if we’d tried.
“We weren’t a fancy team with a lot of household names. but we fought incredibly hard for each other and going up in the manner we did was very exciting.
“That gave me my first taste of top flight football with St Mirren the following season, which was eye-opening.
“The Old Firm were really strong and were doing very well in Europe.
“Hearts were spending a lot too, so to stay up the way we did at Motherwell on the last day was fantastic.
“We were two down and knew that wasn’t enough, so to get back to 3-2 and stay in the top flight was an incredibly happy memory for everyone in that squad.”
After a long spell away from the club. that saw him turn out for Wycombe Wanderers, Motherwell, Hearts and St Johnstone, Sutton returned for a second bite of the cherry in Paisley in June 2016.
This period was no less eventful, with the club going on to dodge dipping into the third tier of Scottish football before winning the Championship the very next season.
Again, the towering striker’s goals were crucial as he finished joint-top scorer in his first season back, alongside Stevie Mallan, with Sutton remembering the Paisley faithful fondly from both spells at the club.
He said: “In my second period in the first year, we narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship.
“That would have been horrible for a club the size of St Mirren.
“It was very exciting to fight back from that and go on to win the Championship the next season.
“The fans were brilliant.
“When you’re winning trophies and they’re singing your name, it’s extremely special times that not every footballer gets to experience.
“My last spell felt like the right time to step aside.
“We’d won the league for a second time and, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to reach the heights I needed to shine in the Premiership again.”
After hanging up his boots, Sutton is now reserve team coach at St Mirren’s fierce rivals Greenock Morton.
He hopes that doesn’t taint the Buddies’ feelings towards him and admits he’d love to see the Renfrewshire derby take centre stage in the top flight at some point in the future.
He added: “I’m enjoying my time coaching at Morton.
“Nothing replaces the feeling of playing, but it’s great to still be involved in football at least.
“I scored quite a few goals against Morton to be fair and always loved playing in that derby.
“We had some very good results in those games.
“It’s special when Cappielow is full and Saints have that whole stand packed out.
“It’s a fantastic atmosphere and I’d love to see that derby in the Premiership one day.”
