Unique club hopes to net new players

Nov 13 2009 Lynn Jolly

BOSSES at a unique football club for people who have disabilities are hoping to pick up some new recruits.

The West of Scotland Football Club for the Physically Disabled will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this month and wants to add to its squad of players, who are aged from eight to 43 years old.

Paisley man Andy Lundie is the club's head coach and he explained that each of his squad members has an ambulant disability, which means they have mobility problems but are not confined to a wheelchair.

Currently, the players have to travel to England for matches because there are no equivalent teams in Scotland for them to compete against.

Andy told the Paisley Daily Express: "We believe our club is unique because everybody who plays has a physical disability. Also, everybody on the committee is a volunteer and is either a parent or a player."

There are 28 players in the squad and five of them come from Paisley.

Andy's 24-year-old son Andrew, who has cerebral palsy, is a member of the team.

And the club's focus is on each member's ability as a player - not his disability.

Andy, who works for Strathclyde Police as a trainer, explained: "We have a strict disciplinary code because, when we are training, the players need it.

"The PlayStation mob, as I call them, are used to doing overhead kicks and the likes on their computer games consoles and we need to strip them back to what their actual ability is.

"At the moment, we travel to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where there are towns between 10 and 30 miles apart which have teams that compete against each other, but the jackpot for us would be to start a five-a-side league.

"We are not just about football - the club is also about friendship and drawing people together.

"We want them to respect each other because they have probably been ostracised at some point in their lives and life can be cruel for them, so we promote the social aspect.

"We have had players who were very, very quiet when they started with us but have matured over time."

The players train at Renfrew High School on Wednesdays from 7pm until 9pm and the club is split into lower novices and novices, depending on ability.

Their season runs from March until October and the club will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Saturday, November 28, by staging a Player of the Year Dance at the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn.

It is also hoped that new members can be recruited to make the club stronger.

Andy, whose wife Helen-Anne is the club treasurer, added: "We are looking for players with an ambulant physical disability.

"Former St Mirren and Celtic player Frank McGarvey's son Sean used to play for us and we also have ex-Army man Raymond Hurst, who lost a leg while serving with the forces, still playing for the team.

"We are a charity and we rely on the kindness of the people of Scotland to keep going.

"Celtic and Rangers have both been very helpful over the years. They have donated tops for raffle prizes and Real Radio have really supported us too.

"Also, the Boyd bus firm in Paisley have kept their costs down and have been very good to us."

Andy, who is also dad to Amanda, 18, and Jamie, 14, would love a high-profile former footballer or current star to go along to hand out the guys' prizes at the Player of the Year Dance at the end of next month.

He added: "It would be great if somebody well-known in the game would take the time to come along."

Andy's players have been turning out in style recently, thanks to a donation from the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation.

The club's colours are red, white and black and the lads have been proudly wearing new strips bought with the cash.

James Kerr, club secretary, added: "Football strips are a vital piece of equipment for a footballer and unfortunately, unless you are a SPL footballer, you won't receive a new kit every match.

"Thanks to the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation, our players do now have a brand new kit to boost their morale and team spirit.

"Our team always feel a sense of pride when they put on their kit and a brand new kit will turn them into an even prouder tight-knit unit."

To find out more about the club, check out the website at www.westofscotlandfcpd.com or e-mail andrew.lundie1@ntlworld.com