There’s not been much football played by the Wee County over the past few weeks. That’s given the boys a chance for a few aches and pains to heal and for a couple to get away with their friends and families overs the festive season.
The lack of football also allows me to make good on a promise which I made some time ago in this column, that being to return to a great man of Nairn County history, that being our former manager, the late Innes MacDonald.
Innes passed away a few weeks ago now, during that time there has been a huge outpouring of respect from all connected with Nairn County towards his memory and to his family.
In particular it was very touching to see and hear from his former players about the man they still consider their boss and of course we had a very well respected minutes applause at Station Park.
I myself only met Innes on three occasions, two of which were very recently, at the book launch for “The History of Nairn County FC` and then a week or so later at the now famous Nairn County Reunion, held in Nairn during the summer.
Innes at both these occasions was very gracious and had time for all the fans and signed a million autographs. He was particulary pleased to be reunited again with my father (a former club secretary) after 30 years.
However even in those latter days you could still see the tactical brain weighing players up, particulary when he asked Dad to point out Conor Gethins, he took a moment to study him then asked how he played and what type of player was alongside him.
Innes managed Nairn to their only League Championship, and also previously managed a fine Elgin City team to great success including a cup run to the quarter final of the Scottish Cup in 1967.
However speak to his ex players and they will tell you he was a man ahead of his time. He put great stock in the psychology of the game, of all players being comfortable with the ball and a move away from the kick and rush tactics which many teams of that era favoured.
Crucially at Nairn, and my father tells me this was key to securing Innes as Manager, he was offered full control over team affairs, something which was largely unheard of in the early 70s where teams were still picked by committee.
If we add George Welsh to the mix, his trainer and football soulmate then a very potent brew was made in the dark of Station Park.
I could write screeds of text about how highly this man is thought of amongst the fans of Station Park. How at any given time he could instill fear and loyalty in a player, raise that same player up from average to exceed the sum of his parts.
I could tell you all about the games he won, and the tactics and analysis the man brought to the role. Recently I’ve started collecting stats on each game Nairn play, passes, shots, fouls etc that sort of thing, I thought I was ahead of the game doing this. Only to find that Innes had the youth team collecting stats on individual players for each match over 40 years ago, the man knew football and was a footballing man.
Anyway, I mentioned that I met him three times, the other time was nothing to do with football. I was about six or seven years old at the time and walking up to the High Street with my dad when we met Innes near Nairn War Memorial.
Now I didn’t know him at all and he was chatting to dad for a while. Then he stopped and spoke to me. Now Innes was an imposing man, big busy moustache and could be quite frightening but he didn’t tower over me, he got down on his haunches and asked me my name, if I played football and did I support Nairn County, to which I said yes.
He told me that he was the manager which impressed me greatly. He then said something which has stayed with me for nearly 40 years. He said `Is that your dad?”, to which I replied yes. He then said “Well Ian I hope you grow up to be a good footballer, but its more important to be a good man and if you can be half the man your father is you`ll be doing ok”.
Footballs great, we all love it, we all take it far too seriously at times, a sin of which I am guilty. However, Innes had the ability to see beyond football, to see that it was a tool to shape young men into good people, something he did for many years at Elgin Academy.
We all miss him at Station Park, he was a great manager and a good man.