Queen's Park, Scotland's oldest football club, have shown remarkable resilience since concerns emerged last year over the future of their financial backing from Lord William Haughey. Despite the end of his direct financial agreement with the club, fears of a swift decline down the Scottish football pyramid have not materialized.
Under manager Sean Crighton, the Spiders enjoyed a solid campaign last season, narrowly missing out on a place in the promotion play-offs before settling for a respectable sixth-place finish in the Championship. While the club's youth academy has since been discontinued, its under-17s and under-19s sides both claimed league titles last season, underlining the strength of the club's developmental pathway.
Haughey's influence has not disappeared entirely. His City Charitable Trust has continued to support the club, funding improvements to the Lochinch training facility located within Glasgow's Pollok Park. Crighton praised the club's infrastructure, saying, "One thing we've got here is a great training centre. And, obviously, at Lesser Hampden, the pitch is unbelievable. We've got the facilities - we need to be a good Championship team."
Queen's Park's identity as a nursery for emerging Scottish talent remains central to its ethos, aligning with the Scottish FA's broader push under Craig Mulholland to develop homegrown players while also supporting the club financially through transfers. The Spiders have a proud history of nurturing players who went on to bigger things, including Scotland captain Andy Robertson and Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland.
Crighton highlighted several recent success stories, noting, "Josh Fowler's moved on to St Johnstone, doing well in the Premiership. Seb Drozd has moved on to Partick Thistle - he's flying over there. Henry Fieldson's gone to St Mirren." He also pointed to emerging talents within the current squad, adding, "We've got a barrowload of them this season. Young Ross McLean has come into the team last year a couple of times and progressed well this year. He's a manager's dream, he's very versatile - he can play in the middle, he can play wide, he can play at the back." Tyrece McDonnell, who made 26 appearances last season, was also singled out for praise.
Crighton emphasized that developing players is central to the club's mission, saying, "We need to be that club because that's Queen's Park's history. The guys that are in the national team, they started at Queen's Park. When I got the job, that was it from the outset. It was, 'Can you help players progress?' Not just me, everyone in the building. That's what we want to try and do. I've got a sense of pride that we've managed to have these players play for us and then move on."
Midfielder Scott Martin, at 29 one of the more experienced figures in the squad, echoed his manager's sentiments about the quality of young players coming through, particularly loanees from Rangers. "Young Aiden McCallion, he's a central midfielder as well. He's been great since he came through the door, gets on with his work, very tidy on the ball. Same with Lewis Stewart, he's lightning," Martin said, adding that the step up to Championship football offers valuable experience for players used to more comfortable circumstances at bigger clubs.
Despite a promising League Cup group stage, Queen's Park's start to the Championship season has proven difficult, with the team currently sitting second from bottom of the table. They are set to host Ayr United, who sit just one place and one point above them, in a crucial upcoming fixture.
Martin remains confident in the squad's ability to turn things around, pointing to a goalless draw against Partick Thistle as a turning point. "Anybody can beat anybody," he said. "We've had a lot of difficult games, but I think the Partick Thistle game was our turning point in the sense that we found that belief that we can go to, in my opinion, the hardest place in the Championship and grab a point. In terms of where we are this season, I think we're OK... we're not far away from being a right good side again."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.