Devoted Dougie still digging deep

It is perhaps difficult to imagine Hearts chairman Roman Romanov, son of Vladimir, donning his overalls and boarding a tractor to tend to the club's home pitch, but that is the type of commitment that Dougie Dalgleish undertakes every day at a Tynecastle of a different kind.

The chairman of Tynecastle Football Club, a city institution since 1928 that runs teams from primary school age to senior level, has served the Saughton-based outfit since 1969 - a tenure broken only by his 12-year association with Hearts.

Now 63, Dougie approaches this year, his 30th at the club, as enthusiastically as his first and can be seen from Balgreen Road mowing and rolling Tynie's immaculate playing fields.

"I like to get my hands dirty," he says. "I don't get this where people say, 'You're the chairman, you should be in your seat'. I'm active, hands-on.

"The biggest satisfaction is to see the club prospering and individual members progressing. Some young players go on to pro football, some don't, but do they become better people? I'd like to think they do."

The start of his two stints at Tynie have coincided with a dawn of success at the club. After leaving Firrhill High School and dabbling in refereeing, Dougie's primary role as coach of first club Pentland Community Centre in 1968 was to stem the tide of goals against. He enjoyed such relative success that Jackie Faichney, the Tynie secretary at the time, recruited him the season after to help with the maroons' under-15 team and, from there, he has helped create some incredible memories.

"Two come to mind," he says. "Firstly, the under-16 Scottish Cup final on June 23, 1971, at Saughton Enclosure, where we beat Gairdoch United 4-1. We had beaten Salvesen at Easter Road 2-1 in the semi-final, which was a great result because they were by far the best team in Edinburgh at the time.

"Everybody said we had to be careful about Gairdoch because they came flying out, and within one minute we were 1-0 down. We had one or two exceptional players, though, including Ralph Callachan, who went on to play for Hearts, Newcastle and Hibs. There was a huge crowd of about 1000.

"The other match was the first time I had gone overseas, in 1974. The original invitation from the city of Winnipeg to celebrate its centenary with a football tournament was sent to Hearts, but they couldn't send a team so we took it up.

"To go to Canada back then cost us a fortune but the parents of the boys were absolutely fantastic in helping to raise enough. We got there to find we would be up against the West German international schoolboy team. We beat them 2-1 and I've never been so proud.

"We won the tournament, but that didn't matter, as no-one had given us an earthly against West Germany. On our way back to the hotel, we heard on the radio '. . . and the Scots have pulled off the most sensational result'.

The club spent the 1970s establishing itself as a force in youth football, winning multiple Scottish Cups, then broadened its appeal in the 1980s by exporting its young talent to participate in tournaments in the Netherlands and Germany.

Dougie's work did not go unrecognised, however, and in 1989 the lure of a scouting role at boyhood heroes Hearts ensured his departure after two decades. Following success as a scout, and establishing the successful Hearts Boys Club, Dougie earned a commercial role and latterly served in the club's PR department until 2002.

Nine years ago, when Dougie returned to Tynie, the club ran just three teams and was bereft of the type of success found in its Scottish Cup glory days. Last season, both its under-13 and under-14 outfits were crowned national champions.

He drew up plans upon returning to include a number of key aims, namely to provide a direct pathway for players to senior football, to secure its own ground and to increase the number of teams. Now, the club runs a successful East of Scotland League team, maintains its own pitch at Saughton Park and runs 22 teams.

Not that Dougie's hard work will stop there, particularly as the increasing success and size of the club has bred discussions about becoming professional.

"We have to join this growing bandwagon of people who would like better facilities," he says. "I would like to make Saughton not just a public park but a sports park.

"We have to be careful. There are only so many avenues you can explore to continue growth and we've got to the stage now where there aren't that many."