We caught up with Cambusnathan Thistle co-founder Kyle to explore the winding path of his football journey including his coaching creditals and the development of his role within the club.

What is your full involvement in football currently?

– Alongside founding and running Cambusnethan, I work as a first team scout for lowland league side Berwick Rangers, which I got involved with through my university placements.

How has your role within Cambusnathan Thistle developed in?

Club chair is what it’s kind of became within the club – been getting called ‘dougie park’ since the change 😂

Did you want to start & coach a team at such a young age

The opportunity to be involved with the club obviously was a surprise at first, and things started up quickly, but it was always a goal of mine to progress myself from coaching young kids to coaching men’s football.

What is you biggest opportunity to improve on as a coach by taking on your Cambusnethan role

Taking on the role of managing Cambusnethan gave me a great chance to gain really valuable experience managing in men’s football. My confidence has improved a lot when delivering information to players, and I have learned how to gain and demand respect from those older than me.

List three words you would use to describe yo u management/coaching style?

Honest, Passionate, Critical

How would the players/coaches in your Cambusnethan Thistle squad describe you?

I hope they would see me as approachable and trustworthy as well as being hardworking and determined to get the best out of them.

Do you have a favoured team set up or do you adapt to those players you have available?

Obviously, depending on player availability, we have to tweak our set-up to suit who we have and with it being our first season, I have tried lots of different tactics and formations to see what clicks, and we have now settled on a few that seem to be working at the moment. I like my team to be aggressive out of possession and be clinical when we win possession. I want them to be physical and be complete pains to play against, and in possession, I like us to be brave and confident on the ball and trust each other to play under pressure and play football.

Based on your experience, what qualities are best for team captains of any team?

I have had experience captaining my team at a few of my previous clubs and have played under some great captains and the main things I would look for in my captain is that they are vocal and are a positive voice on the park, they give 110% every game and fight for everything, they are performing consistently and they also have a positive impact off the park and represent the club well off the park.

What sort of player were you in the past & do you still play?

When I played in goals, I played for a very good Kirkfield side, so I was often not too busy during games, but I was a great shot stopper and had a brilliant penalty record. I was never too good with the ball at my feet and preferred going longer or using my long throw. At centre back and centre mid, I was never the fastest, but I could read the game really well and could position myself well to beat fast players in foot races. I was a no-nonsense defender who loved being physical and loved a slide tackle, and I acted as that enforcer in the middle of the park. Playing outfield again helped to really develop me technically and turned me into a good passer of the ball with a decent enough touch. I have played in just about every position this season when we have struggled for numbers, most recently, being our stand-in goalie for the last two months.

How did your experiences as a player prepare you to become a football coach?

Being a player you get to work under a variety of coaches with their own styles and naturally you have some you like more than others so I have tried to take aspects I liked from my previous coaches and use some of their ideas in my own coaching while developing my own style and identity.