Tell us how you became a Hibee?
My dad came down to Edinburgh from up north in 1961 and stayed in a wee flat in Newhaven. He would go to lunch with his uncle (who stayed at Meadowbank) each Saturday afternoon and from there they would wander to Easter Road. They watched the first team one week and the reserves the next. My dad became a Hibs supporter, and I was always destined to become one, too.
What are some of your earliest Hibs memories?
The first game I went to was against Falkirk in 1971. We won 6-0 with Arthur Duncan scoring a hat-trick. I was only five and loved every minute of it. We then won my first Edinburgh Derby 7-0 at Tynecastle on New Year’s Day 1973, and when you are that young you think it will always be like that. Sadly, it’s not!
Who are your footballing heroes?
When I was growing up it was George Best. That was long before he joined Hibs. He was an unbelievable footballer. For Hibs, my first hero was Erich Schaedler. I can still remember being awestruck when he thanked me for throwing the ball back to him after it had gone out of play at Muirton Park. I think I was six at the time, but the memory has stuck with me. I was also lucky enough to see Joe Baker play for Hibs on his return to the club in 1971 and I have soft spots for guys like Franck Sauzee, Russell Latapy and Matty Jack. I am still in touch with Matty now. Yet the greatest has to be Pat Stanton. He was (and still is) everything you’d expect from someone connected with Hibs. Pat was a fine footballer who played the game the way it should be – a flair player, a terrific captain and he deserved far more honours than he got.
You have been involved with Hibs TV from its inception. Talk us through your broadcast journey?
I was involved with popular fans forum hibs.net. Stuart Crowther, who ran the website, had the idea to start up an internet radio station. This was back in 2000 and he asked me if I would be interested in taking part. I instantly said yes and we would spend Saturday mornings talking about Hibs, playing music and drinking of lot of tea. Colin McNeil – the then commercial manager at Hibs – asked us if he could come on and take questions from fans. And it went so well that he suggested we broadcast on behalf of the club... and we were never going to turn that offer down! Radio Hibs soon became Hibernian Interactive and that, in turn, has now become Hibs TV.
How did you get into commentary?
Hibs TV had been broadcasting match commentaries for a few years before I started. Luke Shanley, who now works for Sky Sports, started off with us. He was fantastic and when he moved on we needed a commentator. Martin Glancy, who is sadly no longer with us, would do the home games and I would do the away ones. My commentary debut was a pre-season friendly against Dunfermline in 2009 and we won 4-0. When Martin left us, I took over home and away matches and have been here ever since.
What is the greatest game you have commentated on?
That’s an easy one! It has to be the 2016 Scottish Cup Final doesn’t it? What an unbelievable day from start to finish. That was easily the best day of my life... but don’t tell my wife I said that! That day had everything you’d want from a football match, and to win the trophy after 114 years was the icing on the cake. No one can take away from me that I was the first Hibs TV commentator to say that Hibs had won the Scottish Cup. It was such an emotional day. I had thought beforehand about what I’d say and do if we won it, but my words in the end were just spur of the moment. I went with, “It had been 114 years and now it hasn’t even been 114 seconds!” That Hibs team deserved to win something. Even at 2-1 down we were on the front foot and took the game to Rangers. They looked dead on their feet when Anthony Stokes equalised and I felt we could win it in normal time. And that is exactly what happened. Liam Henderson delivered, and Sir David Gray got that baldy napper of his on the ball to score the winner. A lot of Hibs supporters were born, lived and died without seeing us win the cup – including my dad – so the magnitude of the feat should never be underestimated.
How proud are you to be part of the club?
It is a privilege. I feel lucky to be involved and it is something I will never take for granted. I am doing something that any Hibs supporter would love to do. I was in the right place at the right time. It is nice to be able to walk around Easter Road and say hello to the players, coaches, directors and office staff. We sometimes forget the guys on the pitch are just ordinary boys because we hold them in such high esteem. If I think back to how I started out, I would never have dreamed I’d still be doing this now and the opportunities Hibs TV has given me.