Please note that ALL content on The Dumbarton Terrace is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the author’s prior permission.
FOR Stevie Aitken, it will be three months.
The Dumbarton manager’s competitive debut will come exactly three months since Morton wrecked his Stranraer side’s title hopes.
One sunny late April day at Stair Park, in the season’s penultimate fixture, Aitken’s Blues would have had one hand on the League One title had they beaten the Greenock men live on BBC Alba.
Instead they lost 2-0. The silverware went to Cappielow and, after losing to Forfar in the play-offs, Stranraer were staying down again.
Today, Stevie found out that his first fixture as Sons gaffer in national competitions will be against Morton in the Petrofac Training Cup. At Greenock, three months on from that day.
It’s also against the club where his playing career began, and took in more than 100 senior games.
As if that wasn’t enough, he’ll also be trying to manage Dumbarton to victory in a competition where they have won four ties in 25 years – two of them in the same season.
By contrast, Stevie reached the semi-finals with Stranraer last season, never losing over 90 minutes despite playing three Championship clubs.
All that makes for a big challenge, but within an hour of the draw being made, Stevie was already counting down the days.
He told The Dumbarton Terrace: “I’m excited about it. It’s a great test for a new-look squad and we’ve worked hard to get ready for this fixture.
“It’s against a club with a lot of momentum having won the league last season, but it will be a good tie for us early in the season.
“There’s nothing we can do about last season now. That chapter is now closed for myself and the players and we are all looking to make a fresh start here.
“We want to go as far as we can in the competition – I think that is important with the number of players who have come into the club.
“It was good to get to the semi-final with Stranraer last year and it was just unfortunate they never reached the final. Hopefully we can get some sort of run together with Dumbarton.”
Stevie is in a conversation that we have had pencilled in for a fortnight, since he came back from his holiday in Florida.
One to find out more about the man who will be the ninth permanent occupant of the home dugout at the Bet Butler Stadium.
Something fitting has already happened. He’s been replaced at Stranraer by the man who scored the winner on Stevie’s debut as a player.
That man is Brian Reid, and the game in question was a 1-0 win for Morton at home to Partick Thistle in October 1996. Also in the Greenock side that day was one Mr Patrick Flannery.
Nearly 20 years have passed, but Stevie’s gratitude to Morton for the chance he got in senior football has not diminished.
He continued: “I was at Morton for a long time – I was 11 when I first came in to train during the school holidays. It gave me a great feeling about what it was like to be a footballer.
“Then I was fortunate enough to be offered a deal after I left school when I was 16, and I went on to have a great time as a player there.
“Allan McGraw took me into his office on the morning of the game, told me I would play, and sent me home to get some rest.
“I don’t remember much about the game but it was a terrific feeling to make my debut as a footballer. That’s something you never forget.
“Paddy and I played a lot in the youth team together and he was also in the first team for a short spell before he went to Dumbarton.
“He went on to have a few good years with Sons and I remember him as a player well. You often get these connections with former players and clubs.
“I still have a lot of friends at the club and I’m grateful for the opportunity Morton gave me. It will be nice to go back – but I am a Dumbarton man now and I have a job to do.”
In 2001 Stevie was offered a change of scenery with a move to Stranraer. The catch was that it meant a nearly 200-mile round trip from his Erskine home every other Saturday.
But his response to that is one of enthusiasm instead of dread at spending nearly four hours behind the wheel travelling to and from the game.
He said: “The travelling never put me off as Saturday is a football day. It can be somewhere on your doorstep or a couple of hours away.
“I just enjoy doing what I’m doing and if it means spending a lot of time on your travels then that’s fine by me.”
Stevie’s time as a player was also a journey into management – and he learned from some of the best-known names in Scottish league football.
And it could be argued that he made as much of an impression at Stranraer as one of the bosses who still teaches him all he knows – a man who won back-to-back promotions at Stair Park.
With some education already served, Stevie was made assistant to Keith Knox at Stranraer in February 2009. More than three years later, with Knox dismissed, he was made manager in his own right.
A home game with Forfar blazed the trail in October 2012, with only five points taken from nine previous league outings.
However, it didn’t take long for the new man to make an impression, leading Stranraer to a 4-1 win over the Angus club.
Stevie continued: “I was fortunate enough to play under a lot of good managers. I would say I’ve probably learned a bit from each one I’ve worked with.
“Allan McGraw was a great guy and set me on my way in football. Billy Stark, Ian McCall and Billy McLaren were all good coaches but the one who is closest to me is probably Neil Watt.
“He was my manager at Stranraer and has mentored me for the last two or three years as a manager. We meet up every week for a coffee and to talk about how things are going, and I’ve learned a lot.
“Going into management was something I’d thought about for a few years before it happened. I like watching games and players and I used to try and study the game as closely as I could.
“I got the opportunity to work with Keith at Stranraer as player/assistant, and really enjoyed working with the players in that role.
“It was a difficult situation for the club when Keith left. They had gone up a division late in the day due to Rangers’ demotion to the Third Division, and so weren’t ready for life at a higher level.
“The club felt a change was needed and I was asked to take the team for the next couple of games. I spoke to Keith and he was happy for me to go ahead and take the job.
“Neil (Watt) thought it was a great chance for me and the players wanted me to take over, so everything pointed to it for me.
“Before the Forfar match I simply told the players to forget what had happened in the past – just to go out and start again and get into contention in the league.
“I asked them to give it everything they had and within two minutes Craig Malcolm scored the opening goal. They never looked back from there.”
In two full seasons as Stranraer manager, Stevie finished in a Second Division/League One promotion play-off position on both occasions. Unfortunately, neither was successful in the end.
During those campaigns they were also the division’s best part-time team – a tag which Dumbarton and their fans have become familiar with in their league.
Stevie added: “It was great to finish as the best part-time side in the division in the first year. Everyone had Stranraer down for relegation as they had the smallest budget and squad.
“They took a lot of people by surprise. We worked hard to ensure the spirit in the dressing room was right and although Dunfermline proved too strong in the end, it was an excellent season.
“Then Stranraer were just unfortunate to come up short last season. They were frontrunners for most of the year and although it didn’t work out in the play-offs again, they retained the best part-time team title in the division.”
But despite the play-off disappointments, there is plenty to look back on with pride. Enough, in fact, for every mile of the A77.
Rangers held to a 1-1 draw at Ibrox on Boxing Day 2013 – one of only three occasions when the Gers dropped points all season.
Premier League Ross County defeated 3-2 at Stair Park in a see-saw League Cup second round tie four months earlier.
However, Stevie never loses sight of what he achieved after he was first appointed to the Stranraer hot seat.
Airdrie and Dundee, promoted only as a result of Rangers’ financial situation in 2012, didn’t stay up. The Blues, elevated from the basement division for similar reasons, did.
Stevie said: “It’s probably one of my biggest achievements. I knew going forward that the club wanted to make sure it stayed in the division.
“Rangers were coming into the league and the club would benefit financially as a result, so it was important to stay up.
“Of the three teams who went up as a result of Rangers’ situation – the others being Airdrie and Dundee – we were the only ones to stay up. That gave us a platform to move forward.
“Going to Ibrox, we were on a really good run. We knew it would be tough but we made the players believe they could get something.
“If you were to ask Stranraer supporters for their highlight of the last 10-15 years, I’m sure some would say getting that point at Ibrox.
“It was the first time the club had ever got a result against Rangers and Jamie Longworth’s goal was the first they’d ever scored against them.
“Ross County was another highlight. We were underdogs in a lot of games we played in but that gave us extra incentive.
“We had a point to prove to people who didn’t think we had a chance, and that sort of result is something we’ll look to get at Dumbarton as well.”
So with results like those gained at Stranraer, why not look to replicate them at Dumbarton?
Stevie isn’t ruling it out, but his feet are staying on the ground.
He’ll take on the likes of Hibs and Rangers with a squad which combines a former Scotland international and an experienced top-flight goalkeeper with players who have been part-time all their careers.
But it has been a seamless process to integrate Darren Barr and Mark Brown with guys whose main source of income is outside the game.
Stevie said: “It’ll be difficult. Rangers are beginning a new era with a new manager, but Hibernian have had a year under Alan Stubbs and will be strong.
“But we’ll make sure we compete against these sides, and we’ll see if we have enough quality on the day to get a result.
“If you get anything from them it’s always a positive. Hibs and Rangers will compete for the league but it would be great to take something from them.
“We’ll see where we are after nine league games. There’s been a high turnaround of players here but they’ve worked really hard and by the time the season starts I’m sure we’ll be ready.
“The players are all gelling well and training is no different to what the full-time sides do. The only difference is that full-time sides spend more time with their players.
“Darren and Mark have been great towards the younger players and we’re delighted with how the team is coming together.”
So, the overall goal for the season? And if it’s achieved, where do Sons go from there?
Stevie added: “With the division we’re in, we are up against some full-time sides with bigger budgets, so consolidation is our first port of call.
“If we do that, who knows where we can go? However, we’re not going to set targets – just ensure that we compete.”
The Dumbarton Terrace 