THE INTERVIEW

Jim Mercer speaks to Karen Fleming

Can you give us a brief run down of your career? I started out at Ayr United, then I went to Queens Park, but I was only there for around 6 months and I broke my leg. Tommy Wilson, who is now one of the Scotland U19 coaches was friendly with the manager of Richmond Kickers in the States and he set up for me to go across there after I had recovered.  However, I got homesick and came back after about four months and that’s when I signed for Arbroath.  I was at Gayfield for three or four seasons, and then moved to Albion Rovers for three years, and I was at Stenhousemuir last season.

So you are unattached at the moment? I am at the moment, but I’ve just started training with a club this week and might end up signing for them if things work out.

Can you tell us which club? No, I don’t want to say at the moment, things are at a very early stage, but it is a third division club so I might be back visiting Gayfield.

Have you won any medals? Only the one, a Second Division Championship medal from my time at Ayr United.  Unfortunately you don’t get anything for finishing as runners-up in the league, or I would have had a couple of those.

What is your highlight from your time at Arbroath? Winning promotion obviously, but I think the fact that I have met so many guys who will be friends for life in that Arbroath team is a personal highlight.  I’m still really close to Gal, I still see Hinchy, and in fact I was working for him until a few weeks ago.  I also keep in touch with Craw and John McAulay.

If you had your career again, is there anything you regret or would do differently?

I would have trained harder and drunk less!  The last time I played at Gayfield I was half cut!  It was John’s Testimonial game before the Dinner at night and Craw and I had been in Tutties drinking Guinness before the game.

You have worked under a number of managers, do you react better to the “hairdryer” or the more laid back style, and who got the best out of you? Dave Baikie was very laid back and a good man manager and I think he got quite a lot from me, whereas I didn’t take well to the Brownlie style, now he definitely was out of the hairdryer mould!  I also liked playing for Peter Heatherston.

Is coaching or management something that you might move into in the future?

Absolutely not!  I’m not interested in that.  I don’t think I’d be a good coach.  Let’s be honest I’m hardly a good role model, am I?

During you time at Gayfield you had almost a cult following and were given legend status by a section of the support.  Why do you think that was?  

I really don’t know.  I just seemed to take to the fans at Arbroath and they seemed to take to me. I think the fans could see that we had such strong team spirit on and off the park and the feel-good factor rubbed off.  We could go across to Tutties after the game, have a pint and mix with the supporters.  I did get a bit of stick from some of the fans but not nearly as much as I did at any other club. 

Arbroath have drawn Albion Rovers in the Quarter Final of the Challenge Cup.  Will we see you there? I think I will go along to that actually.  I enjoyed my time at Albion Rovers too and was supposed to be going along to their game against Elgin a couple of weeks ago.  So yes, there is a very good chance you will see me at Cliftonhill.

And who will you be supporting? No comment!