"What would Ronaldo have done?" ponders Weatherston before scoring

It was a very quick journey from the top of the world to the pits of despair for Queen of the South striker David Weatherston this week and he was asked how it felt.   ‘FRUSTRATING,’ was the loud response from the 24-year-old.

Weatherston explained: “I scored my first ever senior hat-trick last Saturday and woke up the next morning with a hamstring injury.

“I then saw my team-mates miss chances and lose a late goal to deny them a win over Stirling Albion that would have closed the gap on the sides above us chasing the title, so what should have been a good week has been a frustrating one.”

The striker also admitted that he nearly missed the first goal of his trio against Morton as he was too busy thinking about what Brazilian superstar Ronaldo would do in his position.  Weatherston was playing in his favourite position of right on the shoulder of the last Greenock defender when he burst clear on goal with 32 minutes played and all he could think about was what Ronaldo would do.

The Doonhamer striker explained: “Ronaldo had been in the news all week after he had announced he was retiring so I had been watching footage of him in the days leading up to the game.

“I had seen him taking the ball around goalkeepers and then rolling the ball in so I was all set to do that until Colin Stewart stopped advancing from his goal.

“I had to start thinking what am I going to do now and thankfully, I realised that if I hit it high, he was not going to save it and that is exactly what happened.”

The former Queen’s Park and St. Johnstone front man added: “That got my confidence going and when I received a great pass from Rocco Quinn, I put the second away no problem.

“The third got me my first ever hat-trick and I got the match ball signed and took it home with me. After nearly seven years since my Senior debut, I was beginning to think I would never get one.”

Weatherston’s route to goalscoring hero at Cappielow and frustration on the sidelines at Palmerston Park began 13 years ago in the shadow of the National Stadium when he joined Queen’s Park as an 11-year-old.

The front man said: “I lived locally in Clarkston and in my early days, Aiden McGeady and Craig Bryson were my team-mates before they moved on to Celtic and Clyde.”

Whilst McGeady and Bryson left the Hampden youth system, Weatherston was part of a production line that saw the likes of Derek Carcary, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Paton and Paul Cairney progress to Queen’s Park’s first team and beyond.

Weatherston said: “We were all close in ages and some of us were part of a Queen’s side that won the SFL Under League Cup in seasons 2003/04 and 2004/05.”

A first team debut came as a 17-year-old in March 2004 when Weatherston came on as a substitute against Stirling Albion although he did not have the desired impact for his current Doonhamer’s Manager.

Weatherston explained: “Kenny Brannigan was in charge of Queen’s Park then and he put me on as a substitute against a Stirling Albion side that were reduced to nine men. The game was goalless when I went on and was still goalless at the end so I never managed to get the goal needed to win the game.”

Brannigan left Hampden not long into the start of the next season and Billy Stark came in. Weatherston dropped back into the Hampden youth squads to continue his development with first team appearances limited throughout season 2004/05.  However, the following season saw Weatherston grab his first senior goal before August was out.

As you can imagine, he remembers the occasion well as he explained: “That goal was a really good side foot volley at Firs Park against East Stirling.  It was at the end of the ground that had the big brick wall behind the goal and it remains a special moment for me.”

The players that Weatherston had grown up with were now beginning to gel as a first team unit and an indication of their promise was seen in August 2006 when they knocked SPL Aberdeen out of The CIS Insurance Cup in a penalty shoot-out.

Weatherston said: “I played wide right of a five man midfield that night and Billy Stark got things spot on. We were playing well and had a lot of good young legs in our side and we deserved to win.

“We attacked them throughout the game and it was a huge night for all of us and I can still remember Jimmy Calderwood losing his rag on the touchline.

“We dipped a bit after that but then went on a run up the table. We were a fit and energetic side that loved playing at Hampden because it is such a huge pitch.

“We played really good football on it but we had given Berwick too much of a lead. We made third place quite comfortably and that got us into the Play-Offs.”

Weatherston was hitting the heights by this time and he destroyed Arbroath in the Play-Off Semi-Final by helping Queen’s progress with a 4-1 scoreline in their favour.

Full-time clubs were more than circling when promotion was secured with a 7-2 aggregate win over East Fife in the Play-Off Final with Weatherson saying: “We won the first leg 4-2 in a game moved to Firhill and within three minutes of the second game, Paul Paton had scored an absolute cracker of a goal and we knew we were going up.”

St. Johnstone were keen to sign the jet paced youngster with Weatherston saying: “Clubs had been speaking to Billy throughout the season and I think he shielded it from me to allow me to continue growing.

“Approaches were made in January but Billy told people that I was staying to continue my development and that is how things worked out. I knew there were teams sniffing about but I am glad how things panned out.”

Weatherston opted for St. Johnstone in the summer of 2007 with his first game being  a pre-season friendly against Arbroath back at Gayfield with the then Arbroath boss John McGlashan saying: “Oh no, not you again!” when Weatherston got off the team bus.

Current Bolton Wanderers’ Manager, Owen Coyle, convinced Weatherston to head to Perth however, their relationship was brief with Coyle joining Burnley in the November.

Weatherston recalls: “I never really featured under Derek McInnes but I will not hear a bad word against him.

“His training was excellent and I enjoyed working with him and Tony Docherty but I was not playing much.

“I gave it to the start of the next season and when St. Johnstone started poorly and I still did not feature, I wanted to leave.”

Weatherston continued: “Derek told me Queen of the South were keen on me but that he did want me to go.  I wanted to play and Gordon Chisholm wanted me plus Kenny Brannigan was down there and it meant linking up with him again.”

At first, all went well as Weatherston explained: “I am a confidence player and when I went down there, I was flying. I scored on my home debut when I came on as a substitute. I was played through the middle and I then scored twice in my first start against Livingston.”

Things began to slow down with Weatherston saying: “I ended up getting pushed back into right midfield or left midfield and even had some games at wing-back.

“I never felt that comfortable and your confidence goes when you see yourself as a striker that can score goals and that is not happening for you.”

Despite his lack of goals, he was offered an extension to the two year deal that he originally signed and Weatherston agreed hoping that a change of Manager from Chisholm to his old gaffer of Brannigan would spark off his striking career.

“I started this season alongside big Derek Holmes and set up a few goals but eventually, I got moved back a bit and soon found myself on the bench again,” said Weatherston.

He added: “One good thing about Kenny though is that you know exactly where you stand with him although sometimes I have to remind him that I am not the teenage boy he knew at Queen’s Park!”

Weatherston knew that a much sought after starting place, after a near four month gap, was in the offing at Cappielow late last week when injuries and suspension took their toll.

He said: “By the Friday at training, we had only ten fit outfield players. I knew I was starting and I got a hint during training that it would be in my preferred position of through the middle.

“In the first minute, we got a penalty and Willie McLaren just walked up and scored it and that got us going.

“I then got my three goals and I would like to think I have reminded the Manager what I can do when I am fit.

“Confidence makes a huge difference so it was a huge blow to miss out against Stirling when I was flying.

“We have still got 18 games to go so we will keep our heads down and see where that takes us and if we can keep everyone in our small squad fit and free of suspension, we can do well.”

There is also the opportunity of a winners’ medal to be collected with Weatherston saying: “Of course, we still have an ALBA Challenge Cup Final against Ross County to play. When I was at St. Johnstone, we won the tournament.  However, after playing in all the earlier rounds, I missed out on the Cup Final and I do not want that to happen again.

Hopefully, I will be fully fit and full of confidence going into that game.