ONE of football's oldest cliches is that you need to be a little mad to be a goalkeeper and adding considerable weight to this argument is East Kilbride Thistle boss Alan Wardlaw.

The many eccentricities that typified Wardy's displays between the sticks at Thistle and Cambuslang Rangers rose to the surface again this week when he and his assistant Billy Campbell got together to pick their all-time Junior Dream Team.

One of the game's true characters said: "Being involved in and around the Wee Gers for 45 years as a fan, player, then manager has led to a bit of bias and will undoubtedly get my phone ringing from those I left out.

"But we believe this is an ideal split of players from different eras that we hold in the highest regard from watching, playing with or managing."

Goalkeeper

His own position and Billy never got so much as a word in as Wardy insisted: "Leave this to the expert."

He then went on: "Jim Orr of the great Cambuslang Rangers side of the 1970's inspired me to become a goalkeeper, even although it was already in my blood from my dad having kept goal for Maryhill in the late 60s and 70s

"In more recent times, Ronnie Lowrie was a class act but so too was one of the guys who inherited the Newlandsfield gloves from him - Ian Wilson, a great keeper and a gentleman to boot - but for me Orr tops the pile."

DEFENDErS

The duo united in singing the praises of current Arthurlie defender Gavin Rushford who played under them at Somervell Park. Wardy said: "Gavin is an extremely talented player with a great engine and is great company off the park. He really should be playing Senior."

At left-back the EK pair opted for current-day St Anthony's ace Thomas Miller with Wardy insisting: "Thomas has all the right attributes and commitment so we were delighted to sign him for Cambuslang after several failed attempts only to then resign just three months into the season so it still rankles that we never had the opportunity to work with him."

Cool, calm and collected stopper Jim Kavanagh was a near enough shoo-in for their team until Wardy recalled the legendary Jackie Mordue who provided steel in the centre of defence for Cambuslang Rangers in their glory years

Partnering him is the not-so-well known Eddie Hernon, on the books of Partick Thistle as a youngster before sharing an EK dressing room with Wardy.

He said : "Eddie played as an out-and-out sweeper and was a great reader of the game who never ever got flustered and even today he simply strolls through our Old Firm Charity matches."

MIDFIELDERS

His confessed Somervell allegiances had Wardy deliberating over the legendary Rusty Craig to anchor his engine-room alongside Gordon Young from his own playing days, a skilful individual whose coaching abilities saw him become Motherwell academy director before taking up his current role as head of the youth academy at Sheffield United

But names put forward by Billy also evoked memories and eventually the duo settled on the pairing of ex-Pollok players Dougie Fontana and Martin Nelson with Wardy explaining: "For battling qualities Fontana would be the first name on my team sheet every week as he was fearless and an aggressive ball-winner who it was said used to pass to the opposition so he could tackle them

"And how could we possibly consider omitting Nelly, one of the most talented players to grace Junior football as well as someone I tried to sign for Cambuslang, but unfortunately there were too many zeroes on the end of the financial package he wanted."

The name of yet another Junior legend - Jimmy McQuade - cropped up for the right flank as did the versatile Craig Ferguson who played under Wardy and Billy in more recent times.

However they opted for another unsung hero, Paul Alum, whom Wardy managed at Larkhall Thistle and described as "a manager's dream who worked tirelessly for the team whether at right- mid or right-back".

The former shot-stopper laughed profusely when asked for his left-side name, saying: "Sorry but no-one comes remotely close to the one and only Willie McCallum, probably the main player in the hugely successful Cambuslang team and he rates alongside Davie Cooper as the most exciting players I have ever seen on a football pitch."

FORWARDS

The list of strikers to have regularly put the ball past Wardy would stretch to several Evening Times pages but he believes not many hold a candle to his prolific-scoring former Wee Gers team-mate Billy Holmes, so he gets the No.9 shirt

The choice of frontline partner might surprise some but Wardy qualifies his selection of ex-East Kilbride Thistle captain Joe Reilly by saying: "Joe scored in the Scottish Cup Final al Ibrox when Thistle won the cup and would never forgive me if he wasn't included, so he has made the cut."

Wardy and Billy's all-time Junior XI therefore reads:

Orr, Rushford, Miller, Hernon, Mordue, Alum, Fontana, Nelson, McCallum, Reilly, Holmes. Subs: Kavanagh, Young, Grady, Crichton, Wilson (GK).