Albion Rovers striker John Gemmell is aiming to end a 14-year wait for a winner’s medal by helping the Coatbridge side clinch the League 2 title.
The Cliftonhill club will be crowned champions if they win at Clyde on Saturday and second-placed Queen’s Park fail to see off Arbroath at Gayfield.
Gemmell, in his third spell as a Rovers player, tasted success as a play-off winner in 2011 but would love to get his hands on a medal.
The 30-year-old said: “This is my fourth season in total at Albion Rovers and I love the club. The club has been good for me and I would like to think that I have been good for them.
“If we get over the line it will end 14 years of waiting for a medal for me in my football career. Hopefully it will happen although we cannot take anything for granted.
“We went to East Fife last weekend and lost and this will be another tough game. Clyde are not far away from us and it is classed as a derby match so hopefully our fans will turn out in good numbers.
“It will be a tough game to win as they can still make the play-offs and they will be coming out looking to pull closer to the top four.”
Rovers faced a similar scenario last weekend when they travelled to Bayview and the Hampden side welcomed Annan.
An eight-point advantage was reduced to five as the Spiders won 2-0, with Gemmell saying: “The East Fife defeat was just one of those games that did not go our way.
“We did not get into the game quickly enough and they are a decent side. The second half was better but we could not get an equaliser.
“There is no despondency and we will look to bounce back this weekend. Queen’s Park are playing up at Arbroath and you do not know how Arbroath will react after changing their manager.”
As for the title, Gemmell said: “All the players are probably thinking about it but it is not something that we have openly talked about. As soon as you talk about things they can come back to bite you.
“Queen’s Park are a good side and Arbroath are more than decent on their day but we have to focus on winning our game and seeing what happens.”
Gemmell is also hoping to help his side to the League 2 title as a thank you for their help when he came close to packing the game in.
He added: “Our former manager Paul Martin rescued my career when he brought me back from a really disappointing time at Montrose in 2010. I was so unhappy then that I thought about stopping playing football completely.
“I had a miserable season but he talked me back into playing. A lot has happened since then as we won promotion via the play-offs and I had a spell at Stenhousemuir but I remain grateful to Paul and Albion Rovers for getting me going again.
“I have not played as much as I would have wanted this season however getting that first winner’s medal will make up for it.”
Craig Stewart
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