Airdrie United striker, Scott Gemmill, has had to adjust to being one of the old heads in The Diamonds squad this season aged just 24. The news that midfielder Jamie Stevenson has signed on for the season was welcomed by Gemmill as it now means that there is another player in Lanarkshire older than the front man.
Stevenson is 28 so at least there is now the makings of a five a side team for the over 24-year-olds at Airdrie United.
Gemmill said, “Our squad this season is really young and I only realised how young it was the other day.
“Paul Lovering is nearly 35 and then there was me at 24 along with Scott Gibson. I was like, what is going on here, when did I become one of the old guys?
“Most of the team that drew with Brechin last weekend was made up of 19, 20 and 21-year-olds.
“Tony Watt is even younger at only 16 years of age. He is a really decent player and has a lot to learn but he has something about him as a player.
“Chris Craig has joined us as well and came on last week against Brechin and he is another young guy at 21. Chris played in a friendly earlier this week and he looked really sharp so there is real competition for places beginning to emerge.”
Turning into one of the older squad members at such a tender age must seem strange for Gemmill although he has been in football for a long time.
He said, “I started off as an 11-year-old training at St. Mirren a couple of nights per week. I travelled in from East Kilbride and I was signed as a full-time player aged 15 for John Coughlin.
“I am sure I am the youngest ever player to play for St. Mirren.”
Gemmill was only 16 years and 60 days old when he played against Raith Rovers, in the First Division in August 2003, and he also played in the SPL under Gus MacPherson at Love Street before being released in the summer of 2007.
An old supporter was quickly on the ’phone with Gemmill explaining, “John Coughlin called me straight away and asked me to join him at Berwick Rangers. He had always been good to work with and his team had just been promoted to the Second Division so I was pleased to be joining.”
Things did not work out as expected with Gemmill saying, “John left shortly after I joined and it was a pretty miserable season for Berwick. We were relegated under Michael Renwick and he left before the end as well.”
I then moved to the First Division with Clyde and played for a season there under John Brown.
“It was a tough season and we were bottom and written off in November but we bounced back in December with a good run. We looked set to move out of relegation issues in the New Year but we slipped back and were relegated but I felt we gave it a good go all the same.”
Then Airdrie United boss Kenny Black quickly stepped in to take Gemmill to the Excelsior Stadium and he added, “Things went downhill at Clyde at the end of the season and the players were all released.
“Kenny came in for me quickly and I went straight into their team at the start of last season.”
A bit like his time at Clyde the previous year, Airdrie United looked doomed by the time the clocks were getting put back however, a late rally of six wins in eleven games saw them recover an eleven point gap to avoid automatic relegation.
The revival was led by the striker and team-mate John Baird with Gemmill saying, “I knew John from my St. Mirren days and it was great to be working with him again. We almost did it however, almost seems to be the story of my life when it comes to football.”
The pair were at their most effective when they combined to defeat Ayr United 4-1 in April with Baird grabbing a hat-trick after Gemmill had opened the scoring just two minutes after the interval.
Gemmill advised, “My goal was one of those where you were past the goalkeeper and running towards the goal alongside a defender. Thankfully, I managed to get the last touch and we went ahead.
“John took over after that and scored a great hat-trick.”
A Play-Off place was almost avoided as well but The Diamonds had to go to Brechin City in the Play-Off Semi-Final. The uplift caused by their end of season run then evaporated.
“We did not do ourselves justice in the first leg of the Play-Offs at Glebe Park,” said Gemmill before adding, “We played really poorly and lost 2-1. At our place, we were really unlucky and had a couple of good goals disallowed and that was that.”
Relegation brought another unsettling summer as The Diamonds recast their squad in a similarly dramatic way to Clyde with Gemmill saying, “Basically, the club let everyone go. Paul Lovering and I were then asked back and it was decided to offer us contracts.”
Gemmill’s new contract saw the player for the first time, since his record making appearance for St. Mirren, turn part-time and he is adjusting to the change saying, “It is a different way of life and I am looking to go to college now.
“I was hoping to go to college to study joinery however, the course was full so I will have to wait until next year. In the meantime, I will need to get a job.”
Another change at the Excelsior Stadium this season has been the installation of the new artificial surface and it got a thumbs up from Gemmill who said, “The new pitch is really good, especially when it is wet as the ball just sits up wonderfully well.
“ I always thought you could never beat grass but this runs it pretty close.”
One of the characteristics shown by the Airdrie side assembled by Jimmy Boyle on grass and artificial surfaces is one of never giving up with Gemmill commenting, “We have a lot of decent boys and the Manager has instilled a never say die mentality in them.
“Airdrie have a few young full-timers signed on loan and they are good players with great fitness levels so we just keep on going.
“We showed early on against East Fife that we had a good fighting mentality when we came back from two goals down in a game I scored in.
“We carried that on against Ayr United and Brechin City in games where we were behind and got a point from.
“Of course, we defeated Stenhousemuir when we were in front and that was a good result as that win was the first of the season.
“We lost at Livingston but we had chances. We could maybe even have taken a point from there so there is a lot to be positive about.”
Gemmill was asked what the aims for both the club and himself are for this season and he replied, “At the moment, we are in sixth place and that has surprised some people due to the change we have gone through.
“We have a good fighting mentality and if we keep that going, the Play-Offs may just be a target for us.
“On an individual level, I have scored four times so far this season but I am hoping to score a lot more. Double figures for the season would be a good place to get to and represent my best ever return.”
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