I Was Playing On Public Parks 3 Years Ago..now I'm Living Dream

Jan 13 2008 By Gordon Waddell

Rangers V East Stirling Scottish Cup, R4 Today, Kick-Off 3pm

ANDREW BRAND spent two years playing public park football to get his love for the game back after it had tossed him on the scrapheap.

Today he will run out in front of a packed Ibrox to rekindle his dream knowing he did the right thing.

The East Stirling playmaker goes into the David v Goliath Scottish Cup clash against Rangers on a stunning run of form that has netted him eight goals in his last eight games.

And after being plucked from football's no-man's land with Knightswood Juveniles in 2005 he intends to make the most of the big stage.

Brand, 24, who loads vans for Marks & Spencer during the day, said: "It's a long way from the park pitches we played on to Ibrox - you need to pinch yourself.

"I was with Partick Thistle when I was younger and it as always dream to play in front of a big crowd at Ibrox or Parkhead.

"However, the Under-21 team at the time was allowed five over-age players and an over-age keeper so you always found six first-team guys in the team and 11 youngsters left to fight it out for five spots.

"So I didn't play every Monday but I learned a lot. I only had one year full-time - it was really hard going back to part-time when I was let go though.

"People have always asked, 'What are you going to do with your career now?' and I've always just said I'd wait and see.

"They've told me to get a career outside the game but I've always wanted to stick it out and that's why at nearly 25 I have a steady job - but it's not a career."

Brand admits if he had his time over again he wouldn't fill his head with the kind of dreams that only the guys he will be facing today are able to realise.

He said: "I was talking to one of the younger lads in the team during the week and told him I regretted not learning a trade.

"A plumber, an electrician - I'm in a steady job but I'm not making anywhere near what my pals are. So I tried to point him in the right direction and told him to make sure his future is looked after.

"Football will always be there whatever league you want to play in.

"But the guys who get to live the dream like the Rangers players we're facing this weekend are a tiny percentage.

"I played against Andy Webster when he was at Hearts in the Under-21s and also Chris Burke and Allan McGregor with Rangers.

"But you never think you will clap eyes on these guys again, especially when you walk away from full-time football.

"You're reading about them in the paper every day, seeing the heights they hit in Europe. They're doing well for themselves.

"If you have aspirations to do well then you look to these games as a chance to put on a bit of a show. I'm always wanting to forward my career."

Boss Gordon Wylde claimed last week that Brand was the best midfielder in the Third Division and even compared him to former Rangers idol Ian Durrant for the hard running that gets him beyond his strikers and among the goals.

But the player reckons he could have been lost to it all if he hadn't taken a step back so he could burst forward again.

Brand said: "I got my old manager from Knightswood, Graham Haig, two tickets for this game because he gave me the chance to enjoy football again. He had seen the list of frees, asked me to come to training and see if I enjoyed it and I stayed for two of the best seasons I've ever played.

"We won the treble in my first year, I got player of the year then captained them to the league the second year and got to the final of the Scottish Cup.

"That's when I got noticed again and signed here so it worked out well - but I'm till looking to progress."

Shire have finally shed their permanent losers mantle this season, dragging themselves away from their perennial spot propping up Scottish football.

And Brand - a Celtic fan as a kid - insists they will love every minute of their experience today with the pressure all on Rangers to turn them over.

He said: "I have a big group of friends who are all Rangers supporters so I've been getting stick since the draw.

"But at least we know one half of Glasgow will want us to win! We will lap it up though the pressure is not on us, it's on Rangers to get a result.

"I'm like a wean in a sweetie shop and can't wait."