I remember sitting in the Merkland Road as a youngster watching the Dons and wondering how I could go about getting a job as ballboy. They weren’t too much older than me, they got a cracking view of the game and all-in-all, it looked like a good gig.

I found out that it was school football teams that would get asked to be ballboys, a different school for each match. That was my first hurdle to getting the job. I know a lot of people have their own football hard luck story like ‘I had injuries’ or ‘my manager didn’t like me for some reason’. I didn’t really have an excuse for not getting in the school team other than I wasn’t very good.

I loved football, I played it all the time and probably watched, listened and read about it more than anyone else at school. I just wasn’t good enough to get in the school team, so it looked like my ballboy ambitions were finished. Then came Champion Street.

Champion Street, for those who don’t know, was a summer football tournament where teams were made up of kids from small catchment areas rather than schools. They were also allowed to have a bigger squad and more players meant that more kids got a chance to play. It was a fantastic tournament that pretty much every football playing kid in the city probably played in at some point.

I made it into my local Champion Street squad and we actually got to the final. I remember after one of our matches we got told that we would be ballboys at one of the first games of Aberdeen’s season. I had made it. I think in the back of mind I thought, if I make a really good job of throwing the ball back then they might keep me on full time!

Game day arrived and Dunfermline were our opponents. It was a brilliant sunny day and I remember we all gathered outside the Main Stand before being led in the ground. I remember walking through the narrow corridors and looking into each door as we passed, desperate to catch a glimpse of one of the players.

We got to a room near to the tunnel and were given our tracksuits. Anyone who went to Pittodrie around the late 80’s early 90’s will remember them, silver Umbro tracksuits with the makers diamond shaped logo on the front and back.

I remember sitting in my silver tracksuit reading the free programme I had been given (I’ve still got it) when someone called for the four tallest boys. You wouldn’t know it now but at that age I was one of the tallest so I was selected. I can’t remember who the staff member was that looked after us that day but he told us we had a ‘special job’. We were to stand behind the goals during the warm up. It seemed far more exciting at the time than it does now.

I was placed behind the goal at the Beach End where Dunfermline were warming up. Andy Rhodes was the Pars keeper at the time. As he practised catching crosses the ball drifted over the bar to where I was standing. I caught it and threw it back to Rhodes who smiled and said ‘you should have my job’.

It doesn’t seem like much but little interactions like that mean a lot when you’re a kid. He also asked my favourite player and shook his head when I said ‘Eoin Jess’. I always liked Rhodes after that day. When the match started, I was stood by the corner flag between the Beach End and the South Stand.

I can’t remember a whole lot about the game other than the fact that we won 3-0 and Jess got one of the goals. I was only called into action once in the first half. The ball had gone behind for a Dons corner near to where I was posted. I grabbed the ball and as Jim Bett walked over to take the corner, I rolled the ball towards the corner flag. Bett just glared at me as if I was a player misplacing a pass to him. I thought, ‘I better just give to him next time’.

Talking of glares. One of my teammates threw the ball on from behind the goal when Theo Snelders was looking the other way, the ball hit Theo in the back and let’s just say he was not best pleased. I spent the second half at the other end, right behind Rhodes in front of the Merkland Road.

We scored two late goals in that game. I didn’t remember that but I checked for writing this. I did remember Eoin Jess scored the third though. As Andy Rhodes angrily retrieved the ball from the net, he looked over to me and momentarily broke his rage to give me nod and a wink. I like to think he let that one in for me.

That was my only appearance as ballboy at Pittodrie. One game, one win and I’m claiming some kind of assist for the third just because Rhodes knew Jess was my favourite player!