Stenhousemuir experience means a lot to Little

One of the heroes from Stenhousemuir’s proud cup history will return to Ochilview this weekend for the first ever time as a Manager looking to create a Scottish Cup shock against The Warriors.

Berwick Rangers' Manager, Ian Little, was a penalty shoot-out hero when Dundee United were defeated in The SFL Challenge Cup Final in November, 1995 and The Borderers' boss still reckons it was the experience in Terry Christie’s side that made all the difference against a Tannadice side full of stars.

Little said: “I had played for Terry at Meadowbank Thistle a couple of years before I joined Stenhousenuir in the summer of 1995.  There was a bit of uncertainty around Meadowbank’s future and the move to Livingston at the time so I opted to re-join Terry at Stenhousemuir.  They had beaten St. Johnstone and Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup earlier that year and, of course, Terry had already taken a few Meadowbank players with him.

“Adrian Sprott, David Roseburgh and Graeme ‘Louis’ Armstrong were all there so it was a no brainer for me to join them.”

Stenhousemuir started their Challenge Cup run with a bye before defeating visitors Montrose 3–1 in the Second Round, cruising past Dundee 3-0 at Dens Park at the Quarter Final stage before defeating hosts Stirling Albion 2-1 in the Semi-Finals.

Little said: “By the time the Cup Final came around, we had a lot of experience in our squad.  As well as the former Meadowbank boys, we had Eamonn Bannon and George McGeachie playing in our defence as well.

“Terry loved his experienced players as they were his brains on the park.”

Youth had been added as well with Little saying: “Roddy McKenzie came in on loan from Hearts to play in goals and he was one of the younger ones alongside me.  Before the Cup Final, we looked at the players Dundee United had and thought we did not have much of a chance but we were an organised side particularly in defence.

The sides lined up as follows:

Stenhousemuir:  Roddy McKenzie, Eamonn Bannon, Lloyd Haddow, Graeme Armstrong, George McGeachie, Adrian Sprott, Paul Hunter, Jimmy Fisher, Miller Mathieson, Gareth Hutchison, Ian Little.

Substitutes:  Neil Aitken, Tommy Steel, Paul Logan

Dundee United:  Ally Maxwell, Rab Shannon, Maurice Malpas, Steven Pressley, Christian Dailly, Ray McKinnon, Andy McLaren, Grant Johnson, Gary McSwegan, Owen Coyle, Robbie Winters.

Substitutes:  Craig Brewster, Kelham O'Hanlon, Jamie McQuilken

Little recalled: “They had a really strong squad starting from the goalkeeper Ally Maxwell.  It was not just the ability they had, they also had experience with Rab Shannon and Maurice Malpas there.  Ray McKinnon and Grant Johnston, who have just led Brechin to a 7-2 success over Stenhousemuir last Saturday, were in the midfield and they were good players.

“I later played with Ray at Livingston and Grant at Alloa although we never talked much about The Challenge Cup Final.  I knew Christian Dailly from our days in the Scotland youth teams and then they also had Gary McSwegan, Owen Coyle and Robbie Winters up front and big Craig Brewster to bring on.”

The now 38-year-old said: “I remember being nervous in the tunnel at McDiarmid Park when I saw their line-up but I told myself I deserved to be there as I had only just missed out on a couple of moves to full-time football before joining from Meadowbank.

“Once we got playing, the nerves lifted but I remember that we had to work incredibly hard to stay level.  Roddy was on overtime but we got to the 20 minute mark goalless and then we got to half-time goalless.  Eamonn was fantastic that day as he was throughout his time with us.”

The game reached the 90 minute mark without a goal being scored and Little believes that nerves were then replaced by confidence as he explained: “Terry fancied us before the game if we got to a penalty shoot-out and that is how we won it.  Craig Brewster missed his kick and Lloyd Haddow netted from the spot to give us a 5-4 win.

“I had played my part by netting our second penalty and whilst I had been nervous in the tunnel before the game, the nerves had gone by the time it took to take that kick.”

Little was to remain at Ochilview for another two and a half seasons and he enjoyed a good run of form as he explained: “I scored pretty regularly during the next two seasons and indeed, they were probably my best two seasons for goals.”

A move to full-time football finally happened for Little at the end of his third season as a Warrior and he credits his former Manager and several former team-mates for his move to Livingston in 1998 saying: “Terry was the Manager throughout my time at Stenhousemuir and he helped me a lot as did the experienced guys he had brought in.  I have to say that Eamonn taught me a lot about the game and the hard work that was required to make it as a player.  I reckon the advice he gave also helped get me a chance at full-time football.

“Paul Hunter was another player I learnt a lot from as he was a really strong striker who I was willing to learn from.”

Little added: “I enjoyed my three years at the club and we were always a top four side in the Second Division when I was there.  If the Play-Offs had been in place, we would have been in them.  With Terry’s abilities when it came to managing sides for cup ties, I would have fancied us to be promoted if there had been Play-Offs back then.”

Despite his affection for Stenhousemuir, Little is out to dump them from the Scottish Cup saying: “I will not be fooled by their 7-2 defeat by Brechin last Saturday, that is for sure. 

“In some ways, that score actually makes things more difficult for us as Stenhousemuir will be desperate to hit back and they are a side that can score goals.  John Gemmell has looked very good for them all season and we will have to work incredibly hard to get anything out of the game.”

With Little taking a team to Ochilview for a game against Stenhousemuir for the first as a Manager, he said: “This is my first Scottish Cup campaign but I went through a number of hard ties when I was the assistant to Jimmy Crease.  I remember our game at Cove Rangers a couple of years ago as being a real banana skin but we won through and that set up the game against Celtic.

"I have a bit of cup tie experience to call on as a result and so have the players after doing well in that game which went out live on Sky TV.

“The last round against Wick Academy was a tough game and to be honest, it could have gone either way.  They had a penalty early on and missed it and we had one in the last minute that we scored from and the margin was as thin as that.”

Little finished by saying: “Stenhousemuir are the favourites but we will work as hard as we can to get a result.  I am pretty sure that formula has worked before.”