Sweet dreamfor Thistle

David Dick looks at a Highland fling as a Cup tie with Rangers beckons

THE history of Caledonian Thistle has been short and bitter, but sweeter times are approaching. Promotion from the Third Division beckons, a new stadium is planned, and on Saturday they take on Rangers in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

There used to be three clubs in Inverness - Thistle, Caledonian and Clachnacuddin - but after decades of agitation from the north for a Highlands presence in the Scottish League, two years ago Thistle and Caledonian merged and made the step up (Clach, the smallest of the three, kept out, believing they were not ready for such a move).

Anyone who knows the tribal emotions that football stirs up could have predicted subsequent events: rather than the town being united, pandemonium ensued as rival supporters despaired at the thought of fraternising with the enemy. Arguments raged about the ground, the colours, the name and the manager. Thistle's Sergei Baltacha, the former Ipswich Town and Soviet Union sweeper, got the nod but resigned at the end of their troubled debut season.

Cue Steve Paterson, a man with an unparalleled record of success in the north of Scotland. At Elgin City and Huntly, he twice took a Highland League weakling to the title, with numerous cups along the way, and after eight seasons in management he can rightly claim, "I'm still waiting for a bad season."

Paterson played three games for Manchester United under Tommy Docherty, but an ankle injury wrecked his career in Britain. He recuperated and travelled to Hong Kong Rangers before rejoining Docherty at Sydney Olympic, and then became the first European to play in the Japanese National League, the precursor to the J-League, before coming home. He must be the only player to make the leap from Yomiuri Tokyo to Forres Mechanics.

His success has been rooted in his relaxed management style and close relationship with his players. "People tend to overlook non-league football and I'm not sure if my achievements with Elgin and Huntly have been recognised. But I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. Each season I start afresh and forget the success of the year before, and I think it's this testing of myself that brings success."

After qualifying as a social worker three years ago he now works in a children's home, experience which helps him to see beyond football. His chairman, Doug McGilvray, has ambitions to be in the Premier League within eight years, though Paterson is realistic about what such aspirations entail: "If he wants to give me some money for 16 full-time players then fine, but we can't do it as a part-time club."

Saturday's game has been switched for safety reasons from Caley's Telford Street ground, with its 5,500 capacity, to Dundee United's Tannadice. A shame for the town but a boost to the club's finances. "It's a cup tie so we have to have a wee hope that it could turn out to be one of those Saturdays that come along every 30 years," Paterson said.

Indeed, the biggest game in Inverness's history is attracting ticket applications from across the United Kingdom. Failure will do nothing to detract from Paterson's reputation. The fact that his side are even contemplating such an encounter is a dream come true in itself.