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SO…he’s here.
Stephen Aitken is the chosen one, the man who will lead Dumbarton in season 2015/16. And if Ian Murray has earned his move into full-time football, it’s fair to say that his successor merits a chance to show what he can do at a higher level. A total of 12 years at Stranraer, as player, assistant and then manager, has clearly served him well and given him a good education in the game.
Here, The Dumbarton Terrace looks at 10 facts about Sons’ new leader.
1. Stephen made his senior debut as a player on Saturday, October 5, 1996, 10 days after his 18th birthday, when Morton beat Partick Thistle 1-0 at Cappielow. The full Morton team that day was: David Wylie; Derek Collins, Peter Cormack, John Anderson, Steve McCahill, Brian Reid, Paul Blair, Stephen Aitken, Warren Hawke, Scott McArthur…and one Mr Patrick Flannery. Reid got the goal.
2. Stephen’s talent and dig in midfield came at the expense of being a regular goalscorer. He had to wait until Friday, November 12, 1999 to get his first goal in senior football, rounding off a 5-1 rout for Morton at home to Inverness CT. The game was played on the Friday because of Scotland’s Euro 2000 play-off with England the following day. Meanwhile, his first red card certainly picked its moment to arrive – in a derby match for Morton against St Mirren on Saturday, September 19, 1998. Morton lost 1-0 at Cappielow, with Stephen dismissed with two minutes remaining. Stephen only won the Renfrewshire derby once – but it was done in style, with Morton winning 5-1 at St Mirren’s old Love Street ground on Saturday, April 10 1999.
3. Stephen played against the Old Firm in the Scottish Cup in three consecutive seasons for Morton, but lost each one. A 2-0 defeat to Celtic in round three in 1997/98 was followed by a quarter final against the Parkhead club at Cappielow the following season. Hopes were high, but Celtic were 3-0 winners. Rangers visited Greenock in the 1999/2000 fourth round, and secured a 1-0 victory.
4. In November 2002 Stephen was playing for Stranraer at Dumbarton when Sons midfielder Mark Crilly was sent off for an attempted headbutt on him. However, the dismissal did not put the home side, then managed by David Winnie, off their stride as they went on to win 3-0 against Billy McLaren’s Blues. It turned out to be Crilly’s final act in a Sons jersey as he was released weeks later – but in season 2006/07 he and Stephen played together for Stranraer. Crilly has moved into management himself at junior level, but left Kilbirnie Ladeside in February this year.
5. Stephen has played against Dumbarton for both Stranraer and Stenhousemuir, and also managed Stranraer against Sons. His two games as Stair Park gaffer have, of course, resulted in victory in the Petrofac Training Cup first round – 4-2 in July 2013 and 3-2 a year later. His record against Sons as a player wasn’t the worst either – in seven matches for Stranraer, he won three times, drew twice and lost twice. Then in March 2007 he played against them for Stenny twice in four days, firstly drawing 1-1 at the Rock and then helping the Warriors to a 5-1 demolition at Ochilview four days later. He never scored against Sons in his playing career.
6. Stephen became assistant to Keith Knox at Stranraer initially on Monday, January 26 2009, with Derek Ferguson having left following a humiliating 8-2 defeat at home to Stirling Albion. With the Stair Park club in dire financial straits and already well adrift at the foot of the table, relegation was inevitable. Although they did draw Knox’s first game in charge, 1-1 at Queen’s Park, Stranraer won only one game for the rest of the season. It was some success, though, as they exacted revenge on Stirling Albion by beating them 2-1 at Forthbank. Andy Graham played for the Binos in both games.
7. Stephen continued as a player for Stranraer, but his final season, 2010/11, saw him play only once, as a late substitute in a 4-1 win over East Stirlingshire where Scott Agnew scored the opener. The nail has been through his playing boots ever since and the following campaign saw him focus his efforts on assisting Knox. Results were up and down (Stranraer lost 8-0 to Morton in the Challenge Cup but beat both Montrose and East Stirlingshire 6-0 in the league, and Wigtown and Bladnoch 9-0 in the Scottish Cup), but the duo led Stranraer to the play-offs. A penalty shoot-out defeat to Albion Rovers in the final condemned them to another Third Division season – or so they thought. Rangers’ demotion to the Third Division meant that the Blues were promoted after all.
8. Stephen made his debut as a manager in his own right only five days after Alan Adamson left Dumbarton, on Saturday, October 27 2012. With Knox sacked after five straight defeats, he took caretaker charge for an emphatic 4-1 win at home to Forfar Athletic and soon landed the job on a permanent basis. Consistency was difficult to achieve – indeed, Stranraer only won back-to-back games once all season. However, their efforts were enough to beat the drop, securing safety on the last day of the season by beating Stenhousemuir 2-1 at Ochilview.
9. Both of Stephen’s full seasons in charge at Stranraer have seen him reach the promotion play-offs on a shoestring budget. Despite a slow start to season 2013/14, at least in league terms, a run of eight straight victories on Second Division duty was followed by a 2-2 draw at Rangers – one of only three occasions when the Ibrox club dropped points all season. Another haphazard spell followed towards the end of the season, but the team reached the play-offs, only to be beaten by Dunfermline in the semi-finals. That was followed last season by more heroics in the league only to fall short in the deciding games, with Forfar seeing Stranraer off in the semi-finals this time.
10. It wasn’t just in the league where Stephen performed impressively as Stranraer manager. He managed them to victories in cup ties against Ross County and Falkirk, as well as the double header over a Dumbarton side who were in a higher division. Even when Livingston knocked Stranraer out of the Petrofac Training Cup at the semi-final stage, they needed penalties to do it.
Stephen’s record against the 2015/16 Championship (potential) teams as a player…
Alloa Athletic – won 3, drew 5, lost 4
Dumbarton – won 4, drew 3, lost 2
Falkirk – won 5, drew 1, lost 4
Hibernian – won 0, drew 1, lost 3
Livingston – won 1, drew 0, lost 6
Morton – won 1, drew 4, lost 4
Motherwell – won 0, drew 0, lost 1
Queen of the South – won 0, drew 3, lost 4
Raith Rovers – won 6, drew 7, lost 5
Rangers – won 0, drew 0, lost 1
St Mirren – won 1, drew 2, lost 7
…and as a manager
Alloa Athletic – won 1, drew 0, lost 2
Dumbarton – won 2, drew 0, lost 0
Falkirk – won 1, drew 0, lost 0
Hibernian – won 0, drew 0, lost 1
Livingston – won 0, drew 1, lost 0 (N.B. Draw was followed by defeat on penalties)
Morton – won 1, drew 0, lost 3
Motherwell – Never managed against
Queen of the South – won 0, drew 0, lost 3
Raith Rovers – Never managed against
Rangers – won 0, drew 1, lost 3
St Mirren – Never managed against
The Dumbarton Terrace 