End of an era at Carluke as Whitey Moffat steps down

May 19 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

WHITEY Moffat has stepped down as Carluke Rovers manager, ending a 40-year association with the club, the last 10 of which were spent in the hot-seat.

And that marked a true end of an era as Rovers played their last game at Loch Park before moving to the new ultra-modern John Cumming Stadium.

Rovers will complete the final two games of their league programme there, while Loch Park is flattened to make way for a Tesco supermarket.

Moffat has been considering for several months that the switch-over might be the ideal time to step aside.

At that point Rovers were in pole position for promotion, before a form slump saw them crash from second to seventh.

He said: “If someone had told me at the start of the season that we would be top at the beginning of March I would have told them ‘don’t be silly’, but I would have grabbed it with both hands.

“Unfortunately that’s not the way it finished, but that’s not my reason for retiring.

“I told the players of my intention after our last league game and I informed the committee.

“I’ll be 64 in July and have been involved in football for 55 years.

“I feel that, with two grandchildren, now is the time to take a break from the coaching and training routine.”

Last month, as Rovers prepared for the venue switch, Moffat reminisced about the success and cup-winning period the club enjoyed at Loch Park and their previous home, when large crowds created a lively atmosphere.

Whitey was a Rovers regular at right-back from 1963-70 and wore the number two jersey when Carluke last reached the Scottish Junior Cup semi-final in 1967.

He recalled: “I had just left Rovers when Loch Park Stadium opened in 1970. The first game played there between Carluke and Cambuslang Rangers attracted a crowd of 10,000 and was covered by the Scotsport television cameras.

“I had left just before the new stadium opened, but did manage to play a couple of games against Carluke at Loch Park while I was with Forth.”

After hanging up his boots Moffat took coaching posts briefly with Motherwell and Hearts before signing up for a seven-year stint heading up the youth development programme at Queen of the South.

Whitey said: “The manager Rowan Alexander was about to move from Queens to Gretna – before the Miles Brookson involvement – but as I considered the extra travelling nights a week and a Saturday as Gretna played in a league in England, Carluke Rovers called me.

“Stevie Pillans asked me to be his assistant and when he left soon after for Lanark United I became manager.”

On his decision to step down Whitey said: “I think every manager has a sell-by-date and I have felt for much of the season that I’ve maybe reached mine.

“Maybe it’s time for the players to have another voice shouting instructions at them.”