Rutherglen Glencairn F.C.

Chart of Glencairn's yearly table positions in the Scottish Junior Football leagues from 2003 to 2017

Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. were formed in 1895 at the 'Old Jail' office in Rutherglen.[2]

The Glens played their first-ever game on 15 August 1896 against the Ibrox XI (Rangers' junior string in those days) and the Glens won 1–0. The Southcroft team joined the Glasgow Junior League and won it in 1899–1900 to take possession of the "Evening Times Trophy".

The Glens' big moment did not arrive until season 1901–02 when they won the Scottish Junior Cup, the Glasgow League Championship, and the Glasgow Exhibition Championship. The team that proudly brought the Scottish Junior Cup to Rutherglen for the first time by beating Maryhill 1–0 at Meadowside is considered as one of the greatest ever, including future Scotland senior international forwards Jimmy McMenemy and Alec Bennett, both natives of the town.

It was not until 1918–19 that the Glens won the Scottish Junior Cup again, beating St Anthony's 1–0.

Glencairn's third Scottish Junior Cup win was in season 1926–27 and the satisfaction was all the greater because it was Cambuslang Rangers, their great local rivals, who were defeated 2–1. The Glens won the Scottish Junior Cup again for the last time in season 1938-39 when Shawfield (the other local rivals, from Oatlands) went down 2–1.[3]

Glencairn's recent success has been in their rise through the junior leagues in which they were crowned champions of both the West of Scotland League Central District First Division in 2009 and the West of Scotland Super League First Division in 2010.

In 2020, the club confirmed their intention to leave the separate Junior setup and join a proposed feeder division for the Lowland Football League, part of the pyramid system below the professional level of the Scottish game.[4]

The current Glencairn crest is heavily influenced from the town of Rutherglen's official blazon and consists of the club's initials with a football centrepiece watched over by guardian angels at each side. Rutherglen's motto 'Ex Fumo Fama' , which translates as 'Fame From Smoke', is incorporated.

The club plays its home games at New Southcroft Park in the Burnhill district of Rutherglen,[5] after the original Southcroft Park on Glasgow Road in the town's Shawfield district was demolished in 2007 to make way for the M74 motorway extension into central Glasgow.[6][7][8] The original ground had survived for 110 years and was the oldest Junior football ground in Scotland when it closed; the final game was a 1–0 victory over Dunipace in October 2006.[9] Its banked terracing areas also contained toxic Chromium VI, a byproduct from the nearby chemical factory;[10] this was also found to be the case at other stadiums in the local area: Lesser Hampden and Rosebery Park.[11][12] The Glencairn Social Club is still in Shawfield, newly constructed on part of the old ground, right next to the new motorway.[8] It includes a mural depicting the club's greatest triumphs.[13]

The new ground (on the opposite side of the motorway from the original site) was officially opened in July 2008 with a friendly match between Glencairn and Clyde,[14] whose previous home Shawfield Stadium had been just yards from the original Southcroft Park.

In August 2009, the club signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with local urban regeneration company Clyde Gateway to sponsor New Southcroft Park for two years, and it was renamed the Clyde Gateway Stadium. This arrangement was extended for another two seasons in 2012.[14] In 2014 the sponsor became Celsius Cooling Ltd and the ground was duly renamed as The Celsius Stadium. In August 2020 the stadium was renamed 'The Hamish B Allan Stadium' in honour of a lifelong supporter and committee member.[15]

Rutherglen Glencairn entered discussions with Clyde in 2012 about the possibility of sharing the stadium.[6] Although the changing facilities are modern, other things would need improvement to meet Scottish Football League regulations.[6] The proposal was eventually dropped by Clyde in favour of a proposed move to East Kilbride,[16] which was also never realised.

Updated 17 August 2018

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SCO Scott McLellan — GK  SCO Gary Whyte — DF  SCO Rhys Donaldson — DF  SCO Kris Gebbie — DF  SCO Alex Grier — DF  SCO Stewart Hall — DF  SCO Ryan Kerr — DF  SCO Stevie Kerr — DF  SCO Craig McGregor — DF  SCO Tam Miller — MF  SCO Del Esplin

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SCO Tony Fraser — MF  SCO Jordan Leyden — MF  SCO Ryan McArdle — MF  SCO Sean McGuire — MF  SCO Harry Mitchell — MF  SCO Dale Simeon — FW  SCO Callum McRobbie — FW  SCO Liam Gormley — FW  SCO Jay McKay — FW  SCO Gary Smith

Scottish Junior Cup[2]

• Winners (4): 1901–02, 1918–19, 1926–27, 1938–39[3]
• Runners-up (2): 1966–67, 1974–75[13]

West of Scotland Super League First Division

• Winners: 2009–10, 2018–19

Rutherglen Glencairn's recent final league positions are shown in the table below:[2]

Rutherglen Glencairn's recent cup progress is shown in the table below:

After winning the 2008–09 Central District League Championship, Glencairn entered Super League Division One with the almost the same team in 2009–10. They won this too, thus securing a place in the Premier Division for the first time. The 2009–10 winning side was:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SCO Scott Black — GK  SCO Steven McNeil — DF  SCO David Barr — DF  SCO Graham Dale — DF  SCO Kenny Hadden — DF  SCO Lee McShane — DF  SCO Jamie Prunty — DF  SCO Craig Palmer — MF  SCO Richie Burke — MF  SCO Davie Dickson (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SCO Tony Fraser — MF  SCO Chris Gentile — MF  SCO Chris Hopkins — MF  SCO Ryan McArdle — MF  SCO Stephen O'Keane — MF  SCO Paul Thomson — FW  SCO Paul McDougall — FW  SCO Stephen McGladrigan — FW  SCO Paul McLaughlin

Soon after the end of the 2009–10 season, Glencairn's joint managers moved to new managerial positions elsewhere and several players from the 2009–10 team followed them.

Willie Harvey became the new manager before the start of the 2010–11 Super Premier League Season and established under-21 and under-19 teams under youth team manager Alex McArthur. The under-21 team competes in West of Scotland Under 21 League Division One, and the under-19 team in the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District League. To emphasise the importance of youth development, Harvey said, "Every now and again you find a real gem. Somewhere down the line you will find someone who can have a good, strong career. We want to be the side that clubs are trying to poach players from but at the same time we will have first dibs on the best players coming through."

The 2012–13 season was one to remember for the young Glens. Managers Andy McFadyen and Alex McArthur, as well as coach George Fortheringham, led the 21s to winning the treble, a historic moment for the club. An unforgettable night at Glencairn's home pitch saw a Rutherglen last minute equaliser against Knightswood in the final game of the season clinch the West of Scotland Premier League for the first time in the club's history. The Glens also went on to win the League Cup in style after defeating Goldenhill in a 4–1 encounter played at Shettleston. Finally the boys wrapped up an emphatic season with a penalty shoot out victory against Knightswood in the West of Scotland Cup final.

• Jimmy Bain – Manchester United, Brentford
• Sammy Baird – Clyde, Rangers, Hibernian, Scotland
• Alec Bennett – Celtic, Rangers, Dumbarton, Scotland
• Kenny Campbell – Liverpool, Partick Thistle, Leicester City, Scotland
• Alex Craig – Rangers, Morton, Ireland
• Joe Donnachie – Everton, Oldham Athletic, Scotland
• Rob McKinnon – Hartlepool United, Motherwell, FC Twente, Hearts, Scotland
• Jimmy McMenemy – Celtic, Partick Thistle, Scotland
• Archie McWhinnie - Wrexham A.F.C., Wales
• Archie Robertson – Clyde, Morton, Scotland
• Bernie Slaven – Albion Rovers, Middlesbrough, Republic of Ireland
• Jimmy Soye – Southampton, Aberdeen
• Bobby Ward – Newport County

• Official club website
• Under-21 team website
• Video clip of match at (old) Southcroft Park in 1998
• Aggregated Social Media Feeds for Rutherglen Glencairn FC
• Glencairn team from 'Portfolio of Photos', 1897, hosted by Scottish Junior Football Association website