Albion Rovers’ Player/Coach Danny Ferry answered the call from Manager Paul Martin to get his boots dirty again to help the Coatbridge men beat relegation and the 35-year-old was not surprised by the request, in fact he was expecting it.
Ferry said: “I have been brought back into the team at this stage of the season for the past couple of years. Injuries and suspension usually bite hard after a glut of games in February and we usually end up a bit light on the ground player wise.
“Having me around as a player as well as a coach gives the squad a bit of depth. I keep myself pretty fit so I was happy to start against Stenhousemuir at the beginning of March.”
Ferry added: “It was a bit of a necessity that night but we won the game and I have been in and around the team pretty much ever since.”
The modest Cliftonhill Player/Coach plays down his role in a Rovers revival that has seen them win three and draw two of their six games since he started against the Warriors saying: “To be honest, our Manager came back at much the same time after three weeks off through illness and I think our recent results are more to do with him being about than me.
“The Manager has to make changes every week now as it is all about having the freshest available players on the park. He has to tinker to keep everything as fresh as he can and I am happy to play my part in that.”
Another factor in the Coatbridge side making a real fight to avoid dropping back down to the Third Division after just one season following their Play-Off success over Annan Athletic last season was a dose of realism according to Ferry.
“We played against Cowdenbeath back in February and lost 3-0 and to be honest, we played like a team that would be relegated that night,” said Ferry before adding, “That brought an element of realism to everyone at the club that we had to improve. It was not immediate as our results did not improve as we lost to Dumbarton, drew with Forfar before losing 3-0 to Stirling Albion.
“We rallied and beat Stenhousemuir in the game I came back in and perhaps there was a feeling then that we had turned the corner.”
That feeling quickly left as Airdrie United won the final Lanarkshire derby of the season 1-0 and the sound of a penny dropping could be heard at Glebe Park when Charlie King scored an injury time goal that saw Brechin City defeat Rovers 2-1.
Martin’s men sunk to the foot of the table and Ferry said: “The Cowdenbeath game had brought some notice of where we were but the Brechin game really emphasised that we were in trouble. Everyone knew then that we faced a choice of accepting where we were and disappearing quietly or giving it a real go and thankfully, we chose the latter.
“It was not nice being bottom but it may turn out to be the best thing that has happened to us.”
Another good thing to happen to the Rovers was Ferry’s stunning strike that put his side ahead against one of his former clubs Dumbarton last weekend.
Ferry said: “I don’t think I have scored any better and I look forward to seeing it on SFL.TV.”
He joked: “I hit it really well and it flew in. I have hit a few as hard as that in my career but they have never flown in the direction of the goal before!”
It is no surprise that Martin has turned to Ferry to help his side out as the duo have a relationship that stretches all the way back to Hampden and began nearly 14 years ago.
Ferry began his career at Motherwell before being released as a 16-year-old and he was developed for two years within the youth set-up at Queen’s Park before making his top team debut as a Spider in 1995.
Martin joined him as a team-mate in 1998 with Ferry saying: “The legendary Eddie Hunter took me to Queen’s Park however, he left shortly afterwards. He had been there for 30 years and he told me that I had got him the sack despite being there all that time. I am sure he was joking as he also gave me a job as a joiner in his company.
"I used to play against Paul in the days when he had a big pony tail and we used to wind him up about that but his response was usually to play even better against you.”
Martin moved to Queen’s Park in 1998 and Ferry said: “You could tell quite early on that he had leadership material and he made a big impact in our dressing room. We went on to win the Third Division Championship in season 1999/2000 with John ‘Cowboy’ McCormack as our Head Coach.”
Their elevated status was only to last one season with Ferry saying: “We started the season really well and were top for a few weeks and in the top half of the table until January. If I remember correctly, we lost experienced players like Graeme Connell and Dennis Connaghan and never really recovered from that.
“We started slipping down the table and actually only dropped into a relegation place on the last day of the season but we went down all the same.”
Ferry continued to ply his trade at Queen’s Park and featured in over 250 games for them before getting the chance to be reunited with Martin.
Ferry explained: “Paul was the Manager of Dumbarton and after ten years at Queen’s Park, I fancied a change. The Second Division that season was shaping up as a really exciting division with Gretna, Raith Rovers, Ayr United, Partick Thistle and Morton in it.
“It was really competitive and my first two appearances for Dumbarton were coming on as a substitute after having had players sent off.”
The Sons were relegated that season and Martin departed with Ferry grateful for the compassion showed to him by his replacement Gerry McCabe as he explained: “Gerry and Jim Clark came in and I did my pre-season with them without being signed. I broke my leg in our final pre-season game and faced being out for a while but they gave me a contract which was a decent thing to do. They could have walked away from it but they chose not too which was great for me.
“I was out for 18 months and then 'Cowboy' took me to Albion Rovers where Paul was the Assistant Manager so it was a bit of a Queen’s Park re-union. Dumbarton and Albion Rovers used to share a training ground at that time so it was not that big a move but I thought I would give it a go and get playing again.”
McCormack left that summer and Martin took over with Paddy Connolly installed as his assistant and Ferry had a playing only role until the former Dundee United and St. Johnstone striker left Cliftonhill due to work pressures.
Ferry said: “When Paddy left, Paul gave me the chance to become a coach at the club. I thought then and still do now that I want to play for as long as I can but this was a great opportunity to prepare me for a job in football once my playing days are over.
“There is very little conflict in the roles as I see myself as a player that coaches as well. I have to take a step back at times but I do all the training and am always ready when called upon to play.”
There is a great role model for Ferry already at the club when it comes to combining roles as he explained: “Todd Lumsden is our Player/Assistant Manager and he combines them well. He actually coaches for a living and now takes the Scotland Universities team as well as playing for us. I learn from him all the time.”
The combination of Martin, Lumsden and Ferry led Rovers to the Second Division via the Play-Offs last season with Ferry saying: “That was a fantastic achievement. I have been in the senior game for 17 seasons and had only won the League for Queen’s Park. Winning promotion with Albion Rovers was just as good and winning the Play-Offs was a great feeling.
“We played Queen’s Park at the Semi-Final stage and I knew destiny would do that to me. I played in the first leg of the Final against Annan and was on the bench for the second leg. It was great to win through for a club like Rovers that does not enjoy a lot of success and for a Chairman like Frank Meade who works incredibly hard.”
It has been a rollercoaster season following their Play-Off success with a disappointing opening quarter, a terrific second quarter followed by another disappointing run of nine games before their recent rally and Ferry said: “I think we can stay up and the last few weeks have shown that we are fighting to stay up. We have beaten the League leaders Cowdenbeath and promotion chasing Stenhousemuir twice as well as drawing with Dumbarton, another side chasing a Play-Off place.
“If we can keep that up we will not be far from getting out of things. It would be an even bigger achievement to stay up as opposed to going up. We have Stirling and Forfar to play in our last couple of games so it is in our hands.”
The only fly in the Ferry ointment just now is that he picked up a knock this week that may see him miss out against East Fife tomorrow and he said: “It looks like I will miss out on this game so I will be coaching only on the sidelines. I have the taste for playing again so I will be back before the end of the season.”
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