Brian McGinty assumed the Bellshill Athletic hotseat with the same impeccable sense of timing that has served him well throughout his playing career.

It would have bordered on the ridiculous had the 38-year-old missed out on picking a Junior Dream XI considering he has played with and against most of the game's top players during stints with Cumnock, Irvine Meadow, Pollok and now Bellshill over the past couple of decades.

Gints started out as a teenager at Rangers and showed enough promise for the Mark Hately /Billy Kirkwood management team to offer him a two-year contract when they took up the Hull City reins and he returned to Scotland via a short spell at Scarborough Town to sign for the Sanny McAnespie-steered Cumnock .

The East Kilbride based ace is arguably not best remembered for his season and a bit at Townhead Park season, yet his goalscoring displays caught the eye of St Mirren to earn him another step up to the Senior ranks and it was to be fully five years later before he bedded down at Junior level for a second time.

He said: "Evaluating the qualities of players in order to put together a team has been a fascinating yet tough task, so I make no excuses for cutting down on the number of options by only selecting guys I played alongside down the years."

Goalkeeper: Brian found himself torn between the respective merits of Andy McCondichie (Cumnock), Michael Wardrope (Irvine Meadow) and Scott Morrison (Pollok) before plumping for the latter named current Arbroath No.1 in saying: "All three guys are truly magnificent shotstoppers but Scott gets the nod for having the better overall game in terms of coming for crosses and organising defenders in front of him."

Defenders: By his own admission, Gints has yet to see a better defender at Junior level than his former Irvine Meadow team-mate Stevie Swift

"He epitomised everything a full back should be, pacy going forward yet able to get back and tackle as if his life depended upon it."

He added ," Billy Mason who played right back when I joined Medda , also figured in my thoughts as his desire to be a winner and willingness to run until he dropped was so inspirational."

Sean Dillon (Pollok) and namesake John Dillon, currently with Yoker Athletic, were the main contenders for the left-back berth with John getting the McGinty nod of approval for helping him adjust to playing out of position at Irvine Meadow.

"Both were tough as teak defensively and could drill passes forward to great effect, but John's confidence in his own ability made things easy for me when for some strange reason I was played as a wide left midfielder because he insisted I forget about defensive duties and just get upfield where I could do more damage."

Brian was fulsome in his praise of no-nonsense stoppers Paul "Wolfie "McKenzie (Cumnock), Chris McGowan (Irvine Meadow and Pollok) and Steff Reilly (Pollok) before selecting the ex-Irvine Meadow central defensive pairing of Chris Robertson and Derek Wingate .

He said: "Wolfie and big Chris were rugged ball-winning types who could also play a bit while Steff might have established himself as a Pollok great but for being plagued by a whole string of injuries.

"That said, I've gone for big Robbo who was unbeatable in the air and a fabulous centre-back when his mind was on the job and I've opted for Dexi for his ability to cover in behind and ping 60-yard passes into the path of team- mates."

Midfielders: Gints declared: "The wide roles were simple choices for me as I cannot see past Zander Ryan (Meadow ) for his great energy down the right while the left-sided Carlo Monti (Pollok) was an absolute genius whose vision, skill and ability to conjure outstanding goals out of nothing were instrumental in saving Pollok from relegation in my first season at Newlandsfield.

"Carlo preferred to be more involved as a striker through the middle, but I rate him as a great all round footballer capable of being effective anywhere in the team."

The former Irvine Meadow trio of Davie Hamilton, Mark Crilly and David McGeown all emerged as candidates for engine room roles, but Brian's desire for a "sitter type" saw him select Crills whom he described as "a class act who never appeared to be under pressure and acted as the ideal link man between defence and attack in being able to dictate games."

Brian's knows his other central midfield pick is a certainty to raise eyebrows not least of all because he only saw Thomas Sinclair up close for 15/16 games at Pollok.

He said: "It's fair to say Sinky had his moments, but he was a gem of a guy and the best all-round player that I have come across in the Juniors - able to tackle, make passes, score goals and a dead-ball expert into the bargain."

Forwards: A target man type alongside an out-and-out goalscorer is Brian's dream combination for up front and he chewed the fat over Gareth Armstrong and Michael Hughes (Irvine Meadow) as well as Paul Kerr (Cumnock) from further back in his Junior memory banks.

He said: "Bo and Mick were great forward line partners for me but none compare with Kerrso who had a wand of a left foot and a physicality that ensured defenders could not bully him."

Gavin Friels (Irvine Meadow ) and Ian Diack (Pollok) were considered as partners for Kerr, but Gints opted to include his ex-Meadow team-mate Richie Barr saying "nobody could hold a candle to Richie in terms of being a penalty box predator and you could bank on him scoring even when he was having an off day."

Brian's picks come out as Morrison, Swift, Robertson, Wingate, Dillon, Ryan, Sinclair, Crilly, Monti, Kerr, Barr. Substitutes: Reilly, Hamilton, Armstrong , Hughes, Wardrope(GK).