Hampden plays important role but Palmerston is home for Ryan

Queen of the South picked up their first three points of the 2011/12 season last Saturday against visitors Hamilton Academical and Dumfries born Ryan McGuffie was delighted to play his part as a substitute as Gus MacPherson’s side won 1-0.

Playing at Palmerston was a big draw for the versatile Dumfries born player when he moved to the Doonhamers last summer and most Scottish football fans would reckon that Hampden Park would always be a special place for McGuffie as he scored a Scottish Cup Final goal for Gretna.

What many fans will not recall is that the National Stadium has another reason to be special for McGuffie as he made his first steps in his near 13 year long playing career at the famous stadium situated in Glasgow's south side. McGuffie’s bow happened more than seven years before he netted against Heart of Midlothian in the SFA’s 'Showpiece Showdown' in May 2006 and some four years before the Raydale Park side had even played their first ever cup tie in senior football against the side he started his senior career with, Queen’s Park.

McGuffie was an 18-year-old Spider when he came on as a substitute for Scott Edgar back in January 1999 in a 3-0 defeat from Ross County and he talked about his time at Hampden saying: “I was a student at Glasgow Caledonian University and had been playing with St. Johnstone’s Under-21 side when Queen’s Park Manager, John McCormack, took me there for six months.

“I played a few games for them and scored the winner at a game down at Dumbarton. I came on as a substitute in that game with quarter of an hour left and scored the winner not long after Paul Martin, who is now the Albion Rovers Manager, also came off the bench.”

Not such a good memory was a 4-1 defeat at Stenhousemuir when McCormack took a novel approach to his half-time teamtalk with McGuffie saying: “We were three goals down and John’s approach was a bit different. He was really animated and went a bit wild about things and kept us on the park rather than going into the changing rooms. He started taking off his tracksuit top and saying that he was coming on and he meant it. After a couple of minutes, he realised he could not do it and he just made three substitutions instead.”

McGuffie returned home that summer and decided to play locally with a then East of Scotland League side, Annan Athletic, as he did not drive and that ended his spell at Queen’s Park.

It was a decision he was to benefit from as he explained: “I enjoyed my time at Annan and I am pretty sure we went through the entire season undefeated when I was there. I must have been doing alright as St. Mirren and Carlisle were keen on signing me which was great but then I heard Newcastle were keen as well.”

Newcastle United were indeed keen and McGuffie was given the chance to show what he could do in a friendly match against Argentinian side Boca Juniors and he took his chance saying: “I went down and met Sir Bobby Robson and Tommy Craig and I thought I played well. They asked me to stay on for four or five other games and I did that and was offered a contract.

“It was a bit of a dream to move from playing non-League football to training with a Premiership first team squad. Alan Shearer was there as was Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer and it was a great experience for the two and a half years I was there.”

McGuffie was not offered a new deal at St. James' Park and again he headed for the south west of Scotland as he explained: “It was disappointing not to be kept on and I was given the chance to join Macclesfield and Northampton but I wanted to go back home and pick up my education again and that’s what I did. I joined a Gretna side that was to change beyond all recognition shortly afterwards and I also secured a place at university in Edinburgh.”

Gretna were elected to The Scottish Football League in 2002 and McGuffie played in their first ever League match which ended in a 1-1 draw at their Raydale Park home against Morton on 3rd August. Just three days later, McGuffie returned to Hampden to play in Gretna’s first ever League Cup tie and that was not a happy homecoming as his old side won 2-1.

A member of the Glasgow side’s team that night was James Allan, who has found fame off the football pitch as the lead singer with Glasvegas, however, it was John Gemmell who mattered the most that night as he scored the winner.

McGuffie said: “My first contract at Gretna was for £5.00 a week and I was there before Brooks Mileson came in and the place exploded. Raydale was a great place to play as we moved through the divisions and quite often it felt like there were 30,000 there as opposed to just a few thousand.

“Once Brooks came in, it just became a whirlwind and whilst it was his dream, it ended up being quite a sad tale.”

At the eye of the whirlwind that McGuffie describes was Gretna’s appearance as a Second Division side in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final against Hearts. With the Edinburgh side leading thanks to a Rudi Skacel first half goal, the underdogs were awarded a penalty with 14 minutes left after John O’Neil was fouled and McGuffie stepped up with the chance to level the scores.

“Craig Gordon saved my penalty,” said McGuffie before adding, “but without having time to think about it, the ball came back out to me and I netted the rebound. The game went to extra-time and then a penalty shoot-out and I offered to be our fifth penalty taker however, I was not needed as Derek Townsley and Gavin Skelton missed from the spot.”

McGuffie was a pivotal member of the Gretna squad that were promoted as First Division Champions the following season but his time at Raydale and that of Gretna’s had peaked.

The midfielder said: “I had a double hernia operation at the start of the next season and struggled to get myself fit after that. I was out until the autumn and by that time, we were well into the games in the SPL and everything started going pear shaped at the club.

“I could have stayed but I felt it was time to move on and I had the chance to join Hamilton, Dundee and Morton and I opted for Greenock. Jim McInally signed me and I played against Gretna very soon afterwards in a Scottish Cup tie that ended 2-2 and Morton won the replay 3-0.”

David Irons was the Gretna Manager who sold McGuffie to Morton and was the vanquished Manager when the sides met in the Scottish Cup and he was soon to join his former player as he stepped in to replace McInally in the hot seat at Cappielow.

“It all happened in a short period of time,” said McGuffie before adding, “I was there, Allan Jenkins came in and then our old boss came in all in the space of my first month. Eric Paartalu also joined but whilst he only stayed for a short period, I was there for two and a half years until 2009.”

McGuffie outstayed Irons as he explained: “James Grady, who had also been at Gretna, replaced David Irons and all in all, it was a transitional time for Morton. James wanted me to stay but he could not offer me a contract as he was never confirmed as the new Manager.”

There had been rumours of interest from Queen of the South in the January Transfer Window and the chance to finally dawn the Dumfries colours materialised with McGuffie saying: “It was coming up for my 29^th birthday and I had never played for my home town team so I met up with Kenny Brannigan and it fell into place.

"Last season we had a really strong team and looked like we could challenge but the size of our squad made things really difficult. We only had young inexperienced players to bring in and that affected us after the bad weather and we were playing two games a week to catch up.

“We picked up again and I reckon that finishing fourth with a 14 man squad was a successful season but The ALBA Challenge Cup Final against Ross County was a real disappointment as we just never got going that day and lost 2-0.”

Brannigan left in the summer and Gus MacPherson ended his time away from the game after leaving St. Mirren by accepting the challenge at Palmerston Park.

McGuffie has been impressed with what he has seen so far saying: “I did not know the Manager before he came in but I joined the squad for pre-season training. After a week, the boss told me he wanted me to be part of his plans for this season.

“I am glad he did as he has assembled a good squad in a really short period of time. His assistant, Andy Millen, trains as a player every day and they are both genuinely honest guys who tell you things straight and players appreciate that. They will tell you if you have played well or not but more importantly, if you have worked hard, they have a lot of time for you.”

MacPherson’s side earned their first League win of the season last Saturday against Hamilton Academical and it was a case of result first for McGuffie who said: “That result was a weight off our shoulders. We have played better and lost but individual errors were punished against Livingston, Ross County and Partick Thistle so it was important to get a clean sheet and a win.”

McGuffie is not expecting an easy afternoon between now and May as he explained: “It will be a hard season but it will be a hard season for all the teams in the First Division as it is a hard division. Every team can beat every team and you have to fight for every point.”

Having taken so long to end up on his doorstep, McGuffie is enjoying the experience saying: “I am enjoying playing for Queens and I enjoy every training session. I simply enjoy playing football and it is great to wake up in the morning to go out and do something you enjoy.”

When the time comes to hang up the boots, McGuffie does have his university degree to fall back on as the now 31-year-old explained: “I have a BSc in Sport and Management and I have to say I remain grateful to Gretna for their help when I was studying. The university and the club worked with me to get through it especially as I had placements to undertake as well.

“I had no time to myself all the same but I would recommend it to other players. It is on a back burner just now and I am not sure how it will help me in the future but it will in some way.”