Fairway to Football

Kyle Turner can’t wait to get going in the Cup on Sunday against St Mirren

Midfielder Kyle Turner is enjoying the transformation that joining Dunfermline Athletic has brought to his life. Leaving Stranraer to go full time with the Pars has also meant giving up his part time job as a greenkeeper. Kyle’s learning course included years spent at golf clubs at Haggs Castle in Glasgow and Cochrane Castle in Johnstone to become a fully qualified greenkeeper.

“At Stranraer we only trained two nights a week so I maintained the course, cut greens, cut fairways. I left school at seventeen and did a three year apprenticeship. I am qualified now and was doing that for four and a half years.

“All along I wanted to get full time football but it gave me a platform to play part time and try and get to where I wanted to be. It is good to have something behind me to fall back on if football doesn’t go the way I want it to.”

Kyle has played over 150 competitive matches at Stranraer and has more experience than most at his age. He is very competitive and seizing the opportunity that Dunfermline has given him:-

“Fitness levels are very different from part time to full time. Obviously we are in every day and I am getting up to speed with that. It is always tough pre season but it’s my first full time and we will see the benefits of it when it comes to November, December, January when all the games are coming.

“I can’t wait to get going in the Cup on Sunday against St Mirren. Jim Goodwin always wants it played from the back but they are a Premiership team and we can expect it to be tough.”

Kyle has personal experience of playing against the St Mirren manager and recognises his robust style. Although brought up in Renfrewshire and his father Tommy Turner making more than 120 appearances for the Buddies, Kyle is not a St Mirren supporter. His father now watches most of Kyle’s matches and turns out to be his greatest mentor:-

“He will phone me after the game and give me his honest opinion - good or bad. I like that, I’d rather he told me if I was rubbish that game, or things I should work on or if I was good.”

The chance to come and play at Dunfermline, to play full time football at a big club with a big fan base was what attracted the 21 year old who continued:-

“I knew I was coming to a club with good facilities. I played pretty much two full seasons at Stranraer so I wanted to come somewhere where I might play every week.”

Like all the new arrivals at East End Park, Kyle has ambitions for the season ahead and the Pars fans can look forward to his efforts to achieve them. Kyle closed:-

“I want the team to do well and try and play as many times as possible and hopefully get wins.”

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