East Stirlingshire’s win at Elgin City last weekend saw them book their place in next month’s Play-Offs and for one of their coaching staff, it was further evidence that he made the right decision in joining what was then regarded as Britain’s poorest footballing side back in March 2008.
The ’Shire had finished bottom of The Scottish Football League Third Division for five consecutive seasons when a then 35-year-old David Nicholls was asked to help their plans to move at least one rung up the SFL ladder. For Nicholls, it started off as just another stop in his 18 year playing career that had taken in four countries however, it has turned into more than a labour of love for the one time Scottish Cup Finalist.
Nicholls started his career at Hibernian where John Blackley converted him from a schoolboy signing to a full-time player with Alex Miller giving him a taste of first team action. He said, “I was signed by Hibs in 1988 as a 16-year-old and stayed there for four years. I played about ten times in the Premier Division at left back but I never progressed and was released when it did not turn out as I had hoped.”
Nicholls’ next step came out of the blue when he got a phone call from Northern Irish club Coleraine asking if he fancied coming over and playing there. He explained, “Coleraine’s Manager called and said he had heard about me and wanted me to go over there and play. I went over and enjoyed it. I lived in Portrush however, after six months they said they could no longer afford to keep me which was disappointing especially as I was not earning great money anyway.”
Nicholls returned home and joined local side Hamilton Academical for a couple of seasons under the guidance of Iain Munro however, again making his mark on Scottish football proved to be difficult and after only a handful of games, Nicholls travelled over the water again although this destination was the very south of Ireland.
“I was not happy at not playing at Hamilton,” said Nicholls before adding, “And they were happy to release me. Gerry McCabe was there at the time and helped get me to Cork City. My first game for them was the League Cup Final against Dundalk and we won that 1-0. Again, I enjoyed only a few months there as I wanted to come home as I felt I had unfinished business in Scotland.”
Nicholls joined Clydebank for a four year spell in 1995 which included a change of ownership from the Steedman brothers to the Bermuda based John Hall, a change in status from full-time to part-time to full time, a change in home from New Kilbowie Park to Dumbarton’s Boghead and a change from the First Division to the Second Division and back again.
The former Bankie said, “It was a bit of a whirlwind time where we had good players like Ken Eadie, Gary Teale, Paul Lovering and Craig Flanningan. The Steedmans changed us to a part-time side and then Ian McCall came in when John Hall took over and we were supposedly on the up again. As well as Ian, we had Kenny Brannigan, Gordon Chisholm and Joe McLaughlin there so I learned plenty during that time.”
The form showed by Nicholl attracted potential suitors and he shook hands on a deal with Falkirk’s Alex Totten in 2001 just five minutes before Ayr United’s Gordon Dalziel got in touch and offered more money to go to Somerset Park.
Nicholls stayed true to his word saying, “Alex was great with me and I had agreed to sign for them and although I lost out a bit in money terms, it proved to be the correct decision as we never lost to them that season and finished higher up in the Division.”
After two seasons at Brockville, Nicholls jumped over the Kincardine Bridge to join Dunfermline Athletic after hearing of their interest from another former Clydebank player, Owen Coyle. He explained, “Owen was a player at Dunfermline by this time and I remember speaking to him about my contract ending at Falkirk and being worried about it. He told me not to worry as he had heard Jimmy Calderwood was interested in me and he turned out to be correct.”
Despite scoring one of the goals of the season against St. Johnstone in an early game, Nicholls never quite fully established himself in the Pars starting eleven and he was eventually loaned back to Falkirk and helped them clinch the First Division title in season 2002/03.
Nicholls said, “Ian McCall talked me into going there and then he left to go Dundee United two weeks later but we went on to win the title. It was a bittersweet triumph all the same as Falkirk were not allowed to be promoted because Brockville did not meet the SPL’s criteria of having an all seated 10,000 capacity. I went back to Dunfermline to do my pre-season training however, John Hughes came in for me and took me back to the Bairns on a permanent deal.”
A second First Division Championship medal with Falkirk was being earned in season 2004/05 when Nicholls got the opportunity to join the Brooks Mileson bandwagon at Gretna. He commented, “I was on a mid-season break in Portugal when I got a call saying that Gretna were after me. John Hughes allowed me to speak to them and they offered a longer deal than Falkirk could and it was a good place to be at that time.
“I was part of the team that won the Third, Second and First Division Championships in consecutive seasons and that was a fantastic experience and I also played in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final against Hearts.”
Nicholls role in that Final saw him put away his creative left foot and don his working clothes as his job was to stop Paul Hartley playing. He said, “I was not creative at all that day but I won praise for shutting Paul Hartley out of the game until we could bring an attacking substitute on. I had been taken off before we lost in the penalty shoot-out.”
The following season Gretna were involved in the dramatic final day shoot out at Ross County to lift the First Division trophy where James Grady scored in injury time to take the Raydale Park club up. Nicholls took to the field that day boosted by the news that he would be receiving a new contract however, within a week that was found to be a falsehood.
“Myself and John O’Neil were thrown out of Gretna a few days later,” said Nicholls before adding, “It was a disgrace what had happened and the Director of Football, Mick Wadsworth, was two faced about the whole thing. He seemed to tell stories to people for fun and I do not think I am the first person to say that.”
Newcastle Blue Star in the Unibond League was the next step for Nicholls and again he found out that football can be an unpredictable game. Nicholls explained, “They had seen me play for Gretna and the Unibond League was not a bad standard. It was a great stadium to play in as it is shared with the rugby side Newcastle Falcons. We won seven games in a row however, the Manager was sacked and they brought in former Newcastle player Tommy Cassidy. In his first game, I was captain and scored the winning goal and he then told me that he felt it wouldn’t work out for me!”
Travelling from Bellshill was becoming a burden and in early 2008, Nicholls was released and went and played much closer to home for Bellshill Juniors and that completed a life long ambition with Nicholls saying, “I had always wanted to play in a team with my brother Barry and playing with Bellshill allowed us to do that. East Stirling wanted me to sign for them but there were delays in the clearance and playing at Bellshill kept me fit prior to joining the ’Shire.”
Nicholls joined the then Firs Park club as a player only in March 2008 and under the recently appointed management team of Jim McInally and Martin Clark the aim was simple – to not finish bottom of the SFL as that would have started a process that would see them lose their voting rights and eventually force them out of the senior game.
A late rally, including a 1-0 win at Arbroath where Nicholls scored the game’s only goal with a trademark thumping shot, saw McInally’s men move up to ninth place and start the change process at the club. Nicholls was now captain of the side however, before the 2008/09 season started, Nicholls went through a defining moment in his life let alone his football career.
He explained, “I was offered the chance to move into Residential Social Care at St. Philips Secure Unit in Airdrie. When you consider I had only ever been involved in football but it was something I wanted to do, I could not turn it down. The management took a real chance on me because the only thing I could offer them was life skills. I had gained plenty of them during my time in football but the guys at my work were gambling with me.”
The gamble has paid off with Nicholls saying, “I have really enjoyed my two years there and it is good to be trying to give something back from what I have learnt about life.”
Nicholls’ work however, ended his playing career, as he could not guarantee that he would be able to play on a regular basis and he did not want to be in a position where he felt he was letting people down, so he decided to hang up his boots but as the old saying goes, as one door closes another door opens.
Clark was standing down as Assistant Manager due to his own business commitments and McInally asked Nicholls and former Gretna team-mate John O’Neil to come on board as coaches at the club. After getting over his initial surprise, Nicholls said, “I did not know Jim that well, our paths had crossed several times in a footballing sense but we were not best pals or anything like that so it was a pleasant surprise to be asked. Jim is a dynamite guy and a first class Manager and I wonder sometimes why he is still with East Stirling. I am glad that he is but I do not know why a higher division club has not come in for him.”
Nicholls respect for McInally can be traced back to ending the run of bottom placed finishes and he advises, “Jim has instilled a winning habit at a club that was used to losing and that is no mean feat. He has taken East Stirling from second bottom to the Play-Offs two years running and he has brought the club a great deal of respect and everyone appreciates what he has done.”
“We have a lot of experience amongst the coaching staff and there are Scotland caps as well as a fair collection of medals amongst the three of us so we are a position of being able to help players that listen and that is what we have here.”
“Jim, John and I see our role as to pass that on to the players and they have responded magnificently. None of us is in it for the money, it is all about developing players as that is what we enjoy. We work them hard on a Tuesday and Thursday and more often than not, see the benefit on a Saturday afternoon.”
Nicholls reckons the whole feeling of the club has changed during his two and a bit years saying, “Everyone is delighted for our Chairman Les Thomson, who has devoted so much of his life to the club that we are enjoying better times and he must be proud of what he sees now. Of course, then there is Spencer Fearn, who has been great and goes to most of our games and whilst everyone knows that he has invested in the club, he devotes a lot of his time to being involved in running it as well. Having these guys behind the scenes and Jim managing it has allowed us to attract the likes of Simon Lynch, Andy Rodgers and Jamie Stevenson who will hopefully take us on to the next level.”
“Our only regret is that our kit-man Jimmy Wilson passed away last year and has not been able to see a challenging ’Shire side after so many years in the doldrums. We tried to push Livingston as far as we could but the two games a week caught up with us. Their Manager Gary Bollan is a winner and good luck to them in the Second Division.”
It looks like being Forfar Athletic in the Play-Off Semi-Finals for Nicholls’ side and East Stirling are out to make up for last season’s disappointment against Cowdenbeath at the same stage with Nicholls adding, “The results between Forfar and us this season have been mixed with both sides enjoying high scoring wins. Dick Campbell will have them fired up and last year we were really unlucky at Central Park so hopefully, it will be our turn now.”
(This interview was carried out in partnership with The Herald newspaper)
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