Currie sees chance to relive past glories as Kyles close in on title

Currie spends his professional life selling whisky to 50 countries but if Kyles defeat nearest challengers Newtonmore, there may be more of a need of it closer to home.

A victory would mean Kyles could go into their final two matches against Kingussie and Inveraray, lose both and probably still take the title due to their 11-goal cushion. If that is what fate has in its holdall, Currie will be a happy man.

Born and bred in the tiny village by the Kyles of Bute, Currie’s father, uncles and grandfathers all played in successful Kyles teams. Up until this year, he was looking to be a bit of a black sheep. Thankfully, for him, family traditions are now closer to being upheld.

This year, Kyles have secured the Glasgow Celtic Society and Macaulay Cups and, if they take the title, it will complete a remarkable treble. It is something the 33-year-old had always imagined was in store for him when he started out as a 15-year-old.

“When I first played, I joined in a Kyles team that contained players like Dan Macrae and all the greats of that era. I remember in 2000, we were in the Glasgow Celtic final, the Macaulay and the Camanachd Cup final and I thought that was what life was going to be like. However, a lot of the older guys retired and we started to lose a few of the younger ones as well. We battled relegation, then we were relegated.”

To get from there to here, Kyles have come a long and sometimes circuitous journey, forever being promoted only to go straight back down again.

At one pivotal moment, though, a decision was made for the long-term good.

It is this decision, Currie believes, that is making all the difference now. “It got to a stage when guys like Grant Irvine and Roddy MacDonald were coming through at 16 and we knew that group of young players were good.

“So a decision was made that we would go back to South Division One and introduce them all in a oner. I think we are now seeing the fruits of that.”

While Kyles have not lost a league game all season, it is not inconceivable their first could come today, setting up a nail-biting final two weekends.

Despite utterings to the contrary, Newtonmore simply have to win if they are to have any hope of retaining their title.

Their manager Norman Macarthur thinks they can do that and force Kyles to handle the consequences.

“I think we have seen in recent weeks, with Kyles scraping one-goal wins late in games that they are feeling the pressure.

“I think we are due a result down there. If we can get it, it is going to get very interesting.”