Whilst Stephen Aitken is a fantastic supporter of a club in blue jerseys, younger brother Chris is a fantastic supporter of a club in red and white jerseys. However, it was not always that way as the pair once donned blue and white hooped jerseys together.
Elder sibling Stephen is now the Assistant Manager and occasional player at a Stranraer side looking to be playing Second Division football next season, whereas 31-year-old Chris will be a key figure in Stirling Albion’s battle to avoid playing Second Division football next season.
The duo started their careers at Morton with Chris saying: “I was there when I was only 16 or 17 and we played a few reserve games together.
“We are close as brothers and are the best of friends so I am really proud to say that Stephen played alongside me a couple of times in the Morton first team.”
Aitken joked: “It was great he would do all the donkey work and let me be creative.”
The younger Aitken’s spell at Morton was brief as he left to join Clyde in the summer of 2000 as he explained: “I was just finding my feet in the game and Brian Rice took me to Broadwood.
“I enjoyed my time there and played a few games but they were going full-time and I did not want to do that.”
His reasoning for staying part-time remained valid as he explained: “I had then and still have a good job at Rolls Royce. I decided to remain part-time and I am glad I made that decision.
“I went back to Morton on that basis but it was pretty sad times at the club with Administration and a lot of off the field problems.”
Aitken’s career then took him to Hamilton Academical and Accies earned promotion to the Second Division in season 2003/04 however, 12 months later, he required to change clubs again.
It is well known that the then New Douglas Park Manager, Allan Maitland, relinquished his role as Manager in May 2005 after ensuring First Division survival at the first attempt as the club was going full-time.
Maitland was not the only person to leave as Aitken also left the Accies for the same reason and he moved on to Stirling Albion and he has been smitten ever since.
He said: “Stirling has been the best club of my career and I have really enjoyed playing with them.”
Under the guidance of Allan Moore, Stirling were promoted via the Play-Offs against Airdrie United in May 2007 after an exciting Play-Off Final that ended 5-4 on aggregate with Leeds United ace Robert Snodgrass being one of Aitken’s team-mates during that spell.
Aitken said: “Robert was on loan to us from Livingston at the time and ‘Wee Snoddy’ was absolutely outstanding during that period. You could tell then that he was going to be a great player.
“I was the captain of Stirling that season and to lead the guys through the Play-Off Semi-Finals against Raith Rovers and then the Final against Airdrie is a really proud achievement for me.”
Stirling’s stay in the First Division lasted only one season with Aitken tempted away to Ayr United for their Second Division campaign of season 2008/09.
He said: “I had a fantastic relationship with Allan Moore when he was in charge of Stirling but the Ayr offer was too good to turn down.
“I went there for the season and won promotion with them as well. I would like to think I helped a lot by scoring three times in four games against firstly Brechin City and then Airdrie again.”
Aitken stayed at Ayr for the first part of their First Division campaign before coming back as the second season just did not work out the way he hoped it would.
He commented: “I got the chance to come back to Stirling and work with Allan Moore again. We were in with a shout of winning the League when I came here and we did that.
“That was a great achievement as we were so far behind Alloa, who are ironically managed by Allan Maitland, and we had to convert a whole lot of games in hand into points but we did it.
“It was great to be part of a League winning side but captaining the side through the Play-Offs remains the highlight for me.”
Moore left for his first full-time appointment as a Manager at Morton during the close season and the Dunblane Double Tree Stadium side have occupied bottom spot in the table now for some time as well as going through a further managerial change. John O’Neill and Roddy Grant, who had assisted Moore, left in January and the very experienced pair of Jocky Scott and John Blackley were installed.
Despite the upheaval, Aitken remains pleased with the season saying: “It has been really enjoyable and whilst results have not been great so far, they are improving.”
Aitken added: “We have a great bunch of lads at the club. We started off a big week for us by taking a point against Ross County on Tuesday to set us up nicely for Cowdenbeath this weekend.
“Jocky has brought a great deal of experience to the club and has changed training around slightly.
“We knew John and Roddy really well and it was hard to see them go but players just have to get on with these things.
“John Blackley has helped as well and hopefully, the changes will makes us better players and a better team.”
Initial signs are encouraging with Aitken saying: “Our recent performances have been good but what we are missing is goals. I managed to score one at Palmerston last week with a low shot into the corner and that is me up to five for the season but I would like to get a few more.
“This week will be massive for the club and it started in an okay fashion with the draw with Ross County. However, the Cowdenbeath game is a really, really big one and if we keep our performance levels high, we should do okay.”
Regardless of the result, you get the feeling that Aitken will remain committed to the Stirling cause as he added: “Stirling Albion is a really good club to be at and I have a lot of friends here. Everyone is in it together and I can assure fans no-one in our dressing room is hiding from the challenge ahead.
“We win as a team and we lose as a team and to be honest, we deserve a good few results and they will come. It would be a really big achievement for this club to stay in the First Division.”
