Docherty Determined To Finish Strongly For Shane

Shane, 15, was a popular figure amongst the players and had been in and around the dressing room and was well liked by the squad. The club will welcome his family to Broadwood for tomorrow’s match against Montrose and the players will pay tribute to him. Mark spoke to the official website and explained Shane’s connection with the club:-

“I work in a residential children’s house, Skye House in St Philip’s School, for kids with emotional or behavioural difficulties. Shane was one of the kids I worked with and he was an absolutely brilliant wee guy but sadly passed away after a traffic accident.

“We want to go out from Saturday and try and finish as high as we can. The gaffer spoke recently about trying to achieve the club’s highest finish in about 15 years and we’ve let ourselves down in the last few weeks but we want to make amends now. If results go our way hopefully we can guarantee another season in the League and dedicate that to wee Shane and do him proud.

“I used to bring Shane along to training some nights and he loved it, but not so much in the last few months with the bad weather and he stopped coming as much as it was too cold! All the boys in the dressing room were really good with him and took time to chat with him and so did the gaffer. I took Shane to Alloa just before Christmas and Danny spent a good half hour before the game talking to him and getting to know him and I know Shane appreciated that.

“I’ve been able to invite Shane’s mum Danielle, stepdad David and sisters Chloe, Emma and Elise to the game and the club will be looking after them in the lounge which I really appreciate it and I hope they can enjoy the day despite the sad circumstances – we really want to get the three points in Shane’s memory.

“I want to give a special thanks to all the members of the Glasgow Branch for their efforts at the recent race night and in particular Gordon McLaren. They raised a great amount of money for the family which will go towards a memorial bench near Shane’s home and auctioned off a signed shirt which will be very kindly donated to Shane’s family and presented to them today – it’s an amazing gesture.

“I’m a residential care worker and recently got a promotion so I’m a deputy manager now. I absolutely love my job and I’ve been there for over a decade now, ever since I went part-time. I work with kids who have had tough and difficult upbringings and just need a bit of time, love and care. I enjoy trying to make a difference in their lives and I saw that with Shane, he was only with us for around seven or eight months but the difference in him from when he came in was night and day, it’s just tragic that he was taken from us so soon. I never grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I’m just a boy from the scheme and I know things can be difficult for kids so I love just trying to give them that opportunity to better themselves through education or employment and make a difference in their lives going forward.”

The 33-year-old also reflected on his time at Broadwood so far as the season draws to a close:-

“I’ve enjoyed my first season here. It was a difficult start; I didn’t play well and found myself out of the team for a couple of months and it one point it looked like I was going to move on. That didn’t work out in the end but I’m a good professional so I just kept my head down and worked hard in training and took my chance when I got it again. I think I played around 16 games in a row and that coincided with an upturn in our form and season; at one point it looked really difficult and we’d be involved in a relegation battle but we turned it around as we moved into winter and it’s a credit to the manager and the boys. We’ve still got our fate in our own hands over these last three games.

“I’ve had to adapt my game in recent years as I don’t have the legs or energy I once had but I like to think with my experience on the park and in the dressing room I’ve made a positive contribution by demanding and setting standards from the younger players. I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far and would like to be here again next season so I’ll just wait and see what the gaffer says!”