WE'RE BUNCH OF BRIGHT SPARKS

MILLIONAIRE owner Brooks Mileson has made Gretna one of the leading lights in Scottish football.

Winger Gavin Skelton can remember when their dreams were illuminated by a row of makeshift floodlights and the glare from a couple of 100-watt bulbs fixed to the outside of their social club.

Mileson has transformed his club on and off the park as they get ready to play Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final and then set off on a UEFA Cup adventure over the summer.

Ambitious plans are already in place to turn Raydale Park into a 6000 all-seater arena that will meet the criteria to play SPL football in the future.

Their training ground at Annan is also one of the best in the business, with manicured pitches, top-of-the-range dressing rooms and a place to rest up and eat lunch.

It's little wonder Skelton, 25, a former electrician, occasionally has to stop and rub his eyes in disb elief at everything going on around him.

He is one of only a handful of survivors from the team that used to play, pre-Mileson, in front of a couple of hundred fans and who were ambitious for little more than mid-table respectability in the Third Division.

Now they are on the up and Skelton, who moved from non-league Workington four years ago, is having the time of his life.

He said: "When I first came here it wasn't uncommon for only six or seven lads to turn up for training because the rest of the squad had work commitments.

"Often, we would turn up the ground and wouldn't even have anywhere to train.

"It wasn't always possible to train on the pitch as it took an absolute battering from games.

"On occasions, we used to train at a local sports hall but it wasn't always available to us and it wouldn't surprise me if that was down to cost.

"Other times, we could do nothing but go for a run around the streets of Gretna to keep up our fitness levels.

"There were times when Rowan Alexander even fixed halogen lamps to the top of poles and strung them along one side of the car park.

"One half of the car park was lit by the portable lamps and we made use of the outside lights from the social club to light the other half.

"You cannot imagine the changes that have gone on at the club since then.

"I remember playing for Workington and our biggest rivalry was with Gretna - we carried around 400 fans and they took 80 or 90 and now we're going to the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden with 12000 behind us."

Skelton, from Appleby in Cumbria, admits to having had a soft spot for Rangers as a kid and was a regular at Ibrox when players such as Trevor Steven and Gary Stevens were strutting their stuff.

But he quit watching football to concentrate on playing the game and was signed by Carlisle from their youth academy when he left school.

Skelton had three years at Brunton Park but thought his chances of making the big time had gone when he was released.

He then dropped into the Unibond League with Workington and was content to play part-time, working as a sparky on a range of contracts that even included fitting fans to chicken sheds.

Skelton said: "I still remember saying to my mates after I left Carlisle, 'That's it, my chance of making it in professional football has gone'.

"I didn't think I would ever see another opportunity and wondered if I was even playing well enough to be given another chance, but you never know what's round the corner. I'd be lying if I said I didn't look over my shoulder when Brooks arrived at Gretna and all these new players signed for the club.

"However, the manager has always given me confidence to believe in myself and now I look on the arrival of any new player as a challenge to raise my standards still further.

"I appreciate I've got to be on the very top of my game if I'm to keep my place in this Gretna team."

Abusload of fans will be heading to Hampden from Appleby and the surrounding areas to cheer on their favourite son against the Jambos.

More than anything, Gretna's achievements have allowed Skelton to take an even greater pride in his profession and his team.

He added: "I know things are improving for Gretna because I'm not sure fans of Carlisle like us much now, even though their team has enjoyed success this season.

"We're getting greater respect now, even in the local area, and there's more widespread coverage of the team on the local radio and television.

"It's amazing to think we're taking 12,000 fans to Hampden and I hope we can repay their faith in the team."

Taken from the Daily Record