I feel it is fitting to use this week’s column to pay tribute to two good friends who have passed away of late – ex-Peterhead midfielder Frank Krukowski and former Morton striker Allan McGraw.
I got to know Frank properly when I took over as Peterhead manager in 1981.
Frank was a tough-tackling and super-fit lynchpin of the Highland League Blue Toon side and, alongside his great pals Willie Lawson and Mike McHattie, part of what attracted me to the job.
They might have been good players on the park – but they were bandits off it!
One lovely summer day, I took the squad to the beach for some pre-season running on the sand and, when we got there, the three pranksters immediately picked me up and threw me in the water, earning themselves an extra long session going up and down the dunes.
On another occasion, we got drawn in the Scottish Cup against Brora Rangers.
We travelled up and stayed in a hotel 10 miles from Brora on the Friday night, in order to give us the chance to do some proper tactics and loosening off in the morning before the tie.
We’d had our meal at night in the hotel and, about 10pm, I said: ‘Right guys, away to bed’ and told the squad the rooms they would be sleeping in.
As I knew Frank, Willie and Mike were three players with the potential for mischief, I put them in a room with me, and said: ‘Look, I’ll be up about 11 o’clock. You go up, get yourselves to sleep and I’ll try not to wake you when I come in,’
When I got up to the room, I opened the door very quietly, and it was pitch black and silent inside.
I wondered if the three of them might have taken the opportunity to interfere with my bed while I’d still been downstairs, but everything seemed to be in place, so I got my gear off and hopped in.
When I threw my head back on to the pillow, I discovered they had put an old-fashioned chunty (or bed pan) upside down underneath it.
All I heard was a big “ding” as my head hit it… and Frank, Willie and Mike laughing away to themselves.
As I said – bandits!
My old mate from Morton, Allan McGraw, also died recently – and there was an impressive turnout at a memorial service for him in Greenock earlier this week, which I unfortunately couldn’t attend.
Allan, too, was a fantastic player – a near-goal-per-game striker for Morton, scoring well over 100 times – and I went from being an admirer of him as a boy to a friend.
He was a centre-forward at Cappielow when I first went to arrived at the club in the early 1960s, and we were there together for a short period of time before Allan left for Hibs.
Allan would later return to Morton as manager, taking charge of the team for a long spell from the mid-80s until the late 90s.
He was a cracking guy.
He had terrible problems with his legs once he stopped playing due to taking steroids for injuries and, as a result, he walked with a stick.
The problems were worst with one of his knees, which would often pop out of joint.
I helped Allan put the knee back in place quite a few times – you had to put one hand under the heel of his foot and the other on top of the knee, and then pull and push at the same time, which would click it in again. You’d actually hear it.
I remember doing it on the golf course one day, as well as under the table at the Scottish player of the year awards in Glasgow!
Allan was a lovely, lovely person who didn’t have a bad word to say about anybody, and I’ll miss both him and Frank dearly.
Robson’s Reds’ results rooted in hard work and improved fitness
Although it wasn’t the prettiest, Aberdeen’s 1-0 win at St Johnstone last weekend was a reflection of the increased work ethic boss Barry Robson has instilled in the players since taking over.
It’s always difficult when the opposing team go down to 10 men early like Saints did – and nine times out of 10 it feels harder to score against them.
Without ever hitting the heights of their 3-0 win against rivals Hearts on their previous outing, Robson’s side showed they aren’t afraid of a bit of hard work for each other, or the fans, to get the victory over the line after going ahead through Angus MacDonald’s header.
Earlier in the season under Jim Goodwin, who had the Dons down near the bottom of the league, I don’t think Aberdeen would have won a game which panned out like the one in Perth.
For me, the root of the remarkable improvement under Robson which has the the Reds on the cusp of leapfrogging a now-stuttering Hearts into third, securing potential European group stage football in the process, is an improved work-rate and fitness.
The players look far fitter, but they also seem to be happier and more together as a squad – just look how united they are when they celebrate goals now.
Although he didn’t have his best game against St Johnstone, when you combine those qualities with the footballing talents of the likes of Duk, it’s a strong mix.
Hopefully Aberdeen can continue their great run when former boss Derek McInnes brings his Kilmarnock side – likely with a point to prove – to Pittodrie on Saturday.
Killie beat Hearts last weekend, so it would show the Dons are the team to beat in the race for third should they go and put Killie to the sword.
Cove have lost their sparkle and survival is starting to look difficult
I was at Cove Rangers’ 5-0 home defeat to Partick Thistle last weekend and I won’t dress it up – it was terrible viewing.
The sparkle which has been around Cove as a team when I’ve watched them over the past few seasons, and at the start of this term, seems to have been dispersed in what has been a bruising debut Championship campaign.
Hamilton’s win at Raith Rovers in midweek means Cove now occupy the automatic relegation spot at the foot of the second tier.
I don’t mean to emphasise what people at the club – who have always been very welcoming to me – already know, but the performances just aren’t there at the moment and Cove’s players aren’t playing like a team.
I think it has also been clear in the last wee while being a part-time team in a full-time league has taken its toll.
They’ve got everything to fight for in remaining games, starting with Saturday’s trip to Hamilton, but survival is beginning to look like it could be a tall order.
It’s been a phenomenal four or five years for Cove. Perhaps, in the long run, they’ll feel the benefits of dropping back down to League One – a division they won last season – before trying to find their way back up to the Championship once more.
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