Kevin Drinkell
Kevin joined the club as a player in March 1994 from Falkirk, having previously been with Grimsby, Norwich, Rangers, Coventry and Birmingham. His contribution as a player was limited, but little did we know that the club was about to embark upon a new era. The club were struggling against relegation and then manager John Brogan was feeling the strain. When Brogan was fired after a defeat against Clydebank on April 16th, Drinkell was installed as Caretaker Manager until the end of the season. By that time it was too late to avoid the drop into the new Second Division. Chairman Peter McKenzie gambled with a mixture of part timer and Full Time football. Drinkell was confirmed in the manager’s seat, and he brought in Ray Stewart as his assistant. Their first season in charge, 1994/95, was one of ups and downs. After a win and a draw, Albion then won six out of seven, but then failed to win for six. Mid-season inconsistency was followed by a great run of ten unbeaten games coinciding with the inspired signings of Gary Paterson and Paul Deas. This set up the end-of-season thriller with Dumbarton, with promotion on offer to the winners. The result that day – a win for Dumbarton – was a real sickener, but Kevin was able to regroup his troops and with a couple more inspired signings, he set up a team that would walk off with the Championship in 1995/96. Steve McCormack came from Queen’s park, and Alex Bone from St Mirren a few weeks into the season – both were outstanding buys. Season 1995/96 is remembered by most Albion fans as the best ever – all sorts of records were broken on the way to the Championship and incredible results were recorded – 7-0 at Dumfries, 6-0 at Forfar and so. The club played Rangers at Ibrox in the League Cup and gave a magnificent performance despite the 3-2 defeat. If 1995/96 was exciting, 1996/97 was probably an even greater achievement. Albion comfortably maintained their First Division status and produced some fine football against teams who were supposedly much better than them. This must be set against the backdrop of the limited resources available at the time. 1996/97 was always going to prove more difficult. The First division was very evenly matched with no obvious relegation candidates – that’s how it turned out. Injuries to the likes of Alex Bone and Gavin Price left Albion with few options on occasions, and at the end of the season relegation ensued. There were still some real high spots – the 6-2 win over Kilmarnock in the League Cup will always be one of the clubs finest moments. The end of season win at Raith Rovers also brought joy to the Albion fans there that day. Kevin parted company with Albion three days before the end of the season. His pell as Manager of the club will be remembered for various reasons. The fans will recall it as a period of attacking football – Kevin never compromised his ideals because of the opposition and was always determined to play to the strengths of the players. The players themselves who were at the club at the time will remember his style of management – he treated each player as an individual and thought long and hard about how to get the best from them. The level of consistency which many of them showed suggests that his approach was very close to the mark. |