Hibs fan set to fulfil football manager dream and step into dugout for Albion Rovers v Hearts B

Viewers of BBC Scotland programme A View from the Terrace will be familiar with the show’s reoccurring segment ‘Put A Shift In’ featuring Hibs fan Duncan McKay.

Now in season seven, Duncan has had the opportunity to work across football clubs in Scotland in several jobs from the pie shed to the club shop, being the stadium announcer and even getting inside the mascot costumes. However, one job he perhaps never thought he would get the chance to do would be to actually take over as first team manager of a club on matchday.

Step forward Albion Rovers who this weekend will hand the reigns over to McKay for their Lowland League clash with Hearts B. Former Jambos, West Ham and Rangers striker Sandy Clark will temporarily step back from the role with McKay taking over full control and picking the starting line-up, tactics and delivering the half time team talk.

WATCH THE LATEST EPISODE OF FITBAWTALK FEATURING SEGMENTS FROM OUR HIBS HUB AND HEARTS DIGEST PODCASTS

“I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life,” said Duncan. “Most fans think they can do a better job than the manager, so I’m going to put it to the test. I was happy to ask Albion Rovers if they’d let me manage the team because I never thought they’d actually let me do it. Now it’s a reality, I’m pretty nervous, to be honest.

“Let’s see if all those hours spent playing Football Manager and shouting my expert opinion from the stands and at the TV work in reality. I look forward to meeting the team — I hear they’re a great bunch of lads.

“I’ve been trying to get into the headspace of being a manager for the last few days. Football is a funny old game, and at the end of the day, it’s all about getting the three points. But if we don’t win, we’ll dust ourselves off and go again. Well, I won’t, as I am only boss for a day, but you know what I mean.”

Albion Rovers board member Ben Kearney commented: “Everyone at Albion Rovers is delighted to welcome Duncan as boss for this weekend’s Park’s Motor Group Lowland League fixture against Hearts B. 

“It is the perfect opportunity for Duncan to get his foot in the door against the Wee Jambos and we are expecting big things. No pressure, but we won our last match at The Reigart Stadium 5-0! Six will do nicely on Saturday.

“We have kept a close eye on Duncan’s fledgling football career so far, and having seen him excel at several different roles across a host of clubs over the past few years - we have full faith that he can handle the step up to management. 

“We are big fans of the show at the club, so when they got in touch, we were intrigued. ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has changed the game for football clubs like ours — you have to think differently. Football managers have a tough time — everyone thinks they can do it, but it’s a much more difficult job than people realise.

“We’ll be holding our breath on Saturday and while we hope he’ll do the business, we look forward to welcoming Sandy back to the hot seat next week.”

The match between Albion Rovers and Hearts B will take place at Cliftonhill Stadium on Saturday, November 2 with a 3pm kick off. The documentary short of Duncan’s experience will feature on next week’s episode of A View from the Terrace, airing Friday night on BBC Scotland at 10:30 pm.