THE INTERVIEW – MARK PEAT

Mark, you joined Arbroath from Aberdeen.  How did a Motherwell lad end up at Pitoddrie and how did your move to Arbroath come about?
A scout had spotted me playing for Albion Rovers Boys Club and watched me play a few games.  I was offered a week’s trial in January 1999 and at the end of the week was offered a part-time contract.  I was then offered a full-time contract in the summer and moved to Aberdeen at the age of 17. 

I chose them over Dundee, who had also offered ma a contract.  I stayed in digs with an older couple along with Kevin McNaughton  and Ross O'Donohue.  After four years there Steve Patterson came in as manager.  I was out injured with a torn muscle in my back and he released me without even seeing me play. 

John Brownlie gave me a call and said Arbroath would be interested in signing me, then he went on holiday so I met with Stevie Kirk, who sold Arbroath to me.  Although the club had just been relegated from the first division, Kirkie assured me the ambition was to go straight back up.  As it turns out, John Brownlie was only manager for another two months or so.

Do you hope to return to full-time football in the future?
Yes, very much so.  Jim Weir has been great and set up full time training facilities for me with Hamilton, so I've been training there since pre-season.

Can you clarify the story behind your move to Montrose?
After losing the league at in the last game of the season at Berwick and missing out on promotion through the play-offs, I felt we needed to add one or two quality players in for the push for this season.  Instead it seemed we were losing the quality players like Willie Martin and Marc McCulloch and other boys were unsure if they were going to sign again.  It seemed to me that the team was weaker instead of stronger.  There were a few other things which disappointed me too, but I don't see the point in dragging it  up now. 

Jim Weir had contacted me  right after the play offs, but at first I thought it would be  a sideways step as Montrose hadn't had much success in recent years.  However Jim kept phoning me and I was impressed with what he had to say.  I met with John McGlashan, but things didn't feel right, so I phoned John and Robbie and told them I wouldn't be signing another contract with Arbroath as I felt the time was right to move.  I left both of them on good terms.   At that point I hadn't decided to sign for Montrose but Jim Weir called again and asked me to meet with him and Kevin.  I was impressed with them and their ambition, so decided to sign.  It was a hard decision to leave Arbroath, I'd made a lot of friends there, both players and staff and I'd enjoyed my time at the club.

Have you enjoyed the derby games so far this season?
To be honest, no.  It felt very strange, especially the first game, playing against mates who had been team-mates for the past few seasons, then to top it off I had to go off injured at half time so I was gutted.  The second game was a poor game and was spoilt by the wind and the third game I'd better not say too much about!  I was a bit disappointed by the reaction of some of the Arbroath fans in that first game too.  I knew I'd be in for a bit of stick as I now what the rivalry between the two sets of fans is like but I'd didn't expect to get that level of stick!  The Arbroath fans had always been good to me and it just came as a bit of a shock, especially when the two guys ran onto the pitch and into my face when Arbroath scored!  I left Arbroath purely for football reasons and I'd like to think I helped the Arbroath cause when I was playing for them.

What's it like for a keeper to play on the new surface at Links Park and do you think it is the way forward for Scottish football?
I quite like the Astro as you always know what to expect.  Some pitches, especially at this time of year, can be bobbly or the goalmouths are mud baths and there's always the chance a ball can take a bad bounce or get trapped in the mud and that can prove disastrous for a keeper.  I do like playing on grass though and that's where I think football should be played, but for the smaller clubs it can be a real source of income, as it can be hired out all day, with no effect.  It also provides the club with training facilities as a lot of clubs have to train on muddy patches or pay for decent facilities as they can't train on their own pitch because of the damage this will do.

Finally, tell us something about you that we don't know.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I always make sure I am standing on the six yard line when the whistle blows for kick off.  It's just a superstition I have.  I hope Barry Sellars doesn't read this before the game and try to chip me from the centre circle today.  He's already tried that from a quick free kick in the 5-0 game!

Karen Fleming