Stenhousemuir midfielder, Iain Thomson, is widely respected as one of the most industrious midfielders in the Second Division and as well as working hard, the 29-year-old has been a fans favourite throughout his career because when it comes to taking responsibility, Thomson is very rarely second in the queue.
Thomson came through the prolific Hutchison Vale Boys club in Edinburgh although unlike so many of their graduates, he was not in a team full of players that later went on to find international fame and fortune.
The Warrior explained: “I started off at Glenpark Boys Club who eventually became Edinburgh City and I then moved on to Salvesen and then Hutchison Vale. We had a good side that lifted the Scottish Cup but I do not think there was anyone else from that side that had a senior career.”
Thomson did mix in illustrious company when it came to his schoolboy’s football as he explained: “I played for both Edinburgh and Lothian Schools and Allan McGregor was the goalkeeper at Under-15 level and then when I played at Under-18 level, we had Craig Gordon and Graeme Smith fighting it out to be the goalkeeper and we also had Neil Janczyk in our midfield.”
McGregor, Gordon, Smith and Janczyk all started their senior careers at full-time clubs however, Thomson took a different route although it would often be a high profile route.
He explained: “I went to Spartans and started playing there. We had a couple of great seasons in the Scottish Cup and it was great for me as I was the captain. In season 2003/04, we defeated Buckie Thistle, Alloa and Arbroath before facing Livingston. It was the season that they won The CIS Insurance Cup and I am sure they were not fancying playing at our old City Park ground.
“We held them to 0-0 at half-time but ended up losing 4-0.”
Two seasons later, Spartans were up to their cup tricks again as Berwick Rangers, Lossiemouth and Queen’s Park were seen off and St. Mirren came through to the capital to face the East of Scotland side.
“We held them to a goalless draw and then went back to Love Street and lost 3-0.”
The cup ties brought scouts to watch with Thomson saying: “There were all sorts of rumours at that time but I focused on playing my game. John Coughlin did firm up his interest and I agreed to join him at Berwick Rangers in the summer of 2006.”
It was a great move for the player and the club as he explained: “We went on to become Third Division Champions that season which was a magnificent experience. I look upon it as a great achievement as a lot of players will play senior football and never win a medal, so to be able to say I have done it is a great honour.”
“We had a great team spirit that season and in fact, that squad are still great friends and met up recently for an evening together.”
Thomson stayed on over the border for the next season however, it was a disappointing one as Coughlin left and the title winning squad was broken up. Not even a goal on the last day of the season at Alloa could mask a disappointing time of things for Thomson and The Borderers as they finished bottom of the Second Division and had the misfortune to ship over 100 goals.
Thomson and Manager Coughlin were reunited in the summer of 2008 at Ochilview and within 12 months, they were celebrating success as The Warriors were promoted via the Play-Offs.
Queen’s Park were defeated 2-1 on aggregate in the Semi-Finals and Cowdenbeath, who ironically face Stenhousemuir this weekend, were the opponents in the Final. Three hours of football had failed to produce a goal from either side and a penalty shoot-out was called for.
Thomson recalls: “There was a big crowd at the Play-Off Final Second Leg and I stepped up and scored one of the penalties and a fellow PE teacher Scott Bennett saved one of Cowdenbeath’s to get us promoted.”
Thomson, who combines teaching PE with some Guidance classes at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, enjoyed the experience as he said: “Being promoted with Stenhousemuir was enjoyable but it was different to the Berwick experience. We had been top of the League before going through a real sticky patch and dropping out of the Play-Off places. We won three of our last four games to get back into fourth place so I suppose there was a good deal of relief at going up at that time.”
Stenhousemuir have stayed in the Second Division since that day back in May 2009 with Thomson saying: “It has been a bit hairy at times but we have stayed up. It has come down to the last game of the season against Peterhead both times but we have stayed there.”
Last season’s survival came under the guidance of David Irons, who replaced Coughlin at the start of 2011, with Thomson saying: “It is always a bit unsettling when clubs change their Manager, that is just the way football is. I had been with John a couple of times, so I had to look to see what would happen under David.”
Thomson did not have long to wait to find out as he said: “The new Manager offered me a fresh deal but it was not a case of accepting it straight away as I was basically fed up with struggling at the foot of the League table battling relegation. I had to ensure that both the club and I had matching ambitions.”
Irons convinced Thomson they did and they undertook an extensive rebuilding programme that saw The Warriors assemble one of the most experienced squads in the Second Division with the midfielder commenting: “We are certainly moving in the right direction and there is a lot of competition for places with a lot of experienced players especially in midfield.
“We have the potential to compete at the top of the table but that is only on paper, you play games on grass. Results are really unpredictable in this division and for instance, not many people would have predicted that Albion Rovers would have scored seven against Airdrie last weekend.”
Thomson added: “To be successful in this division, you have to be consistent and we have not been consistent yet and Saturday’s opponents Cowdenbeath have been the most consistent of all the sides.
“We beat them early on and they went on to win five of their next six games to establish themselves at the top end of the table.”
Stenhousemuir will need to work hard to overtake the Blue Brazil with Thomson saying: “In Colin Cameron and Lee Makel, they have two very experienced midfielders to educate a lot of talent in a young squad. They did well in the First Division and they collected 35 points which is a great tally for that division. They were the favourites from the outset and have shown recently why, whereas we have been a bit more up and down.
“When we are good, we are very good, as we were in the second half of the 4-0 win over Stirling Albion last Saturday but we let ourselves down the week before against Arbroath.”
The trip to Central Park is a real opportunity to lay down a marker with Thomson saying: “This is an opportunity to prove that we can compete amongst the favourites and be in the mix come the end of the season.”
The Warriors have already won in Fife this season as they knocked Cameron’s side out of The Scottish Communities League Cup after another penalty shoot-out success after a 2-2 draw with Thomson again stepping up to net from 12 yards.
The only League match between the sides produced a 3-1 success for Thomson’s men however, he does not believe that these games give Stenhousemuir any advantage when it comes to this weekend’s encounter as explaining: “I would reckon that Cowdenbeath will feel that they should have won the cup tie in extra-time as they finished the game very strongly. It was good to step up and score again all the same when the penalty shoot-out came round.
“They were missing a few players when we had the 3-1 win at our place so I am not reading too much into that result either. We will all need to do our jobs well to win.”
.png){kind=logo}
