Alex McLeish remembers taking on Cove Rangers in pre-season friendlies during his playing career in the north-east.
So to now see them climbing up the league pyramid at some speed brings a huge sense of admiration for the former Aberdeen defender.
McLeish will be a guest speaker at P&J Live tonight, as Cove celebrate their centenary dinner. Also on the bill is McLeish’s old manager at Pittodrie Sir Alex Ferguson and Arbroath boss Dick Campbell.
Cove have done their bit to become an established SPFL side after entering the leagues in 2019. Three promotions in four seasons now have them in the Championship for the 2022-23 campaign, just a division behind city neighbours Aberdeen.
“Back in the day we were always pretty close,” said McLeish. “Alan McRae was involved and I had the good fortune to meet him and his family; over the years we’ve all kept in touch and he was my boss at one stage (with Scotland).
“I remember playing against Cove in friendly games and watching the rise and rise of that club is utterly frightening. It’s a credit to their ambition and determination to make it into a Scottish league club.
“Hopefully the fixtures work in a way that when Cove are at home, Aberdeen are away. You would like to think because of their rise through the leagues, they will have a lot more fan-power now.
“We’ve witnessed their vision throughout the years; they got that promotion eventually from the Highland League and they’ve just kept going.
“They played Rangers in the Scottish Cup last year and it’s something I could never have envisaged back in the day, during my time at Aberdeen.
“It’s been a meteoric rise and you tend to think ‘when is it going to end?’ but you can only applaud them in the meantime and give them a break from the pressure.”
‘You need to re-energise and get mojo back’
A chance to catch up with Ferguson is not one to be missed for McLeish. He spent eight years working under the managerial great at Pittodrie, before Ferguson went on to further his legacy with a trophy-laden spell at Manchester United.
“I’d been to a couple of European games at United last season and his tips were uncanny during the game,” said McLeish.
“He had tremendous man-power when we were up there and his memory is certainly better than mine!”
One of McLeish’s favourites as Scotland manager currently resides in the Cove dugout.
Paul Hartley was a regular pick for McLeish during the qualification for the European Championships in 2008, which saw Scotland fall narrowly short with a controversial defeat to Italy.
Hartley has rebuilt his managerial career at Cove, leading the club to two promotions after a bruising experience at Falkirk. Their title success this season saw him named League One manager of the year by the SPFL.
“It’s amazing. He started off in the management game and had one or two setbacks,” said McLeish. “But you need them to re-energise and get your mojo back.
“Paul is full of energy and what he’s done in helping the club get to this level has been brilliant work.
“I’m looking at their staff and it’s actually more of a staff than when we came in at Aberdeen. You’ve got video analysts, coaches, physios, sports science – it’s incredible.
“The game has moved on and if they’re going to go to a certain level, you need to have these things in place. Cove have been very professional in that aspect.”