Opportunity Knox for Aitken

This week marks the second anniversary of Stephen Aitken returning to Stranraer and the Stair Park Player/Assistant Manager is firmly back in love with the club that he played over 150 times for from 2001 to 2007.

Aitken said: “It has been great to be back and to be honest, leaving in the first place was not my choice. I was deemed surplus to requirements by the management team that was here then but I am delighted to here again.”

Aitken’s return was one of the first tasks that Blues’ boss Keith Knox undertook when he was appointed to the Manager’s position at the club although the pair were never Stranraer team-mates.

Aitken was with Junior side Arthurlie when the unexpected call came with the 34-year-old saying: “The club were going through a really difficult time two years ago with a lot of financial cut backs taking place. It was a time of transition and Keith asked me to re-join Stranraer as a player which was great. I had been an opponent of his a good few times but we were never in the same team and I have a lot to thank him for.

“His enthusiasm for Stranraer is infectious and, of course, he is a bit of a legend in football. He was a right good player and travelled all the way from down in the south west to play for Clyde, Stenhousemuir and Alloa and he was still playing in his forties.”

The relationship between the pair grew with Aitken saying: “I played until the end of the season and as I also had my B Licence coaching badge, Keith got me to take some of the training sessions as well.

“It was a disappointing season for Stranraer, with the off the field problems and relegation on the field. We lost a lot of players as a result.”

“Keith and I talked briefly about signing on again and when we spoke after the final game of the season, he said he was pleased to be in the position of being able to offer me the role of Assistant Manager.”

It was a step Aitken had been ready for as he explained: “I had 16 years as a player and I loved every minute of it but it was time to add to that.”

Those 16 years started out in the First Division as Aitken explained: “I started out under Allan McGraw at Morton and they were a great club to me and, of course, my brother Chris was there for two years as well.

“I grew up with some really talented players at Greenock with the likes of Derek McInnes, Brian Reid and Alan Mahood all being there.”

The Cappielow club holds special family memories for Aitken who explained: “Ian McCall came in as Manager and he gave Chris and I a really special couple of occasions. He chose us to play together in couple of games in midfield for Morton.

“All in all, I spent eight years at Morton and at times, it was a rollercoaster on and off the park but playing with Chris was special.”

There is unfinished business between the siblings with Aitken adding: “Chris and I are close and I would like to manage him one day although I am not sure what he will think of that. We are different types of players as he is more attack minded than me. “He is doing well at Stirling just now and hopefully, he will be able to help them pull up the table a good bit.”

The potential for a coaching career was identified early in Aitken as he advised: “Some of the Managers I had worked with at all levels of the game all mentioned coaching to me. I am not sure what it is about me that they saw, maybe it is my love for the game.

“Billy Stark was a terrific coach at Morton and he influenced me but it was Neil Watt and Stuart Millar, when they were at Stranraer, that really started pushing me towards coaching qualifications.  I cannot speak highly enough of the help Neil and Stuart have given me and the pair of them have remained supportive since.”

One thing that Watt and Millar did not prepare Aitken for was the amount of time put in by coaching and managerial staff as he explained: “I had always thought that the management side of a part-time club is not too involved but I have had my eyes opened at Stranraer.

“Every day I am working on Stranraer business and there are a lot of hours that I did not know about and I would imagine a lot of people do not know about.

“Keith and I are already talking about next season and we still have a third of the season to play.”

The relationship between the managerial duo is key to the success of Stranraer as the club operates differently to most SFL clubs. Knox ensures an almost constant presence in Wigtownshire, with the club re-establishing itself at the heart of the community, after it lost its way several years ago whereas Aitken deals with the majority of players who are based in and around Glasgow on a regular basis.

The squad usually comes together twice a week for training however, a run of midweek games has seen that reduced to once a week and it is Knox that does the travelling.

Aitken said: “I look after a lot of the Glasgow side organising things like training venues and co-ordinating the players and it seems to work well.  Keith trusts me to do things and that is a great position to be in.

“He travels up twice a week, along with four players from Stranraer, so you can see the effort he puts in to his football still.”

On the field, The Blues rose to the top of the Third Division table on Tuesday evening on the back of a 3-1 win over Clyde and Aitken already knows what a successful period at Stranraer feels like.

“In season 2003/04, we won the Third Division Championship under Neil and Stuart and the following season, we were promoted to the First Division. Stranraer was a great family club at that time and that is what we are looking forward to getting back to under Keith and I.

“We were relegated via the Play-Offs the following season but we had collected a points total of 29 that would probably keep you up this season.”

Half-way through the next season, Aitken’s first spell at Stair Park came to an end as he moved to Stenhousemuir on loan although the Warriors never saw the best of him.

He explained: “I knew Campbell Money and he took me there but it was only a short spell and to be honest, I had never wanted to leave Stranraer. I was disappointed at leaving and it probably showed.”

Aitken dropped to the Juniors with his 18 month stint at Barrhead’s Arthurlie seeing him line up with another Stranraer old boy, Lee Sharp, who has also returned to the fold.

The knowledge gained in the Junior scene brought benefit to Stranraer this summer when they were first in line to pick up the talented Dunterlie Park pairing of midfielder Sean Winter and Craig Malcolm when they decided to move up to the senior ranks.

Aitken advised: “The Junior standard is improving every year and I thought that the two of them would handle the move to the SFL.  It has worked out well as Sean has worked really hard for us in midfield and Craig is now on 20 goals for the season.”

Despite the hours put in off the park, Aitken’s playing days are not totally over as he made a fleeting appearance as a substitute in last midweek’s 4-1 success over East Stirlingshire.

“We were a bit short of numbers so I agreed to go on the bench,” said Aitken before adding: “But I only came on when we were winning by three goals!”

It is unlikely that Aitken’s appearance will be enough to earn him another League Championship medal should Stranraer go on and repeat their success of season 2003/04 however, their Assistant Manager is not even thinking that far ahead.

Aitken said: “This season has gone well so far however, there is a long way to go. Our plan this season was to be involved in the Play-Offs and we are on target for that.”