Australia Bound Par

Everybody wishes Club Captain the very best as Dinger becomes Dingo.

Pars skipper Scott Wilson leaves Scotland on 15th June for a new career in the Australian A-League. He will join up at North Queensland Fury where  former Pars captain and team mate at Rangers, Ian Ferguson is in charge. Scott agreed a minimum two-year deal to go Down Under.

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler will also join the Townsville side and Scott will feature alongside overseas players Felipe, Jeremy Brockie and James Robinson. Fury have recently been promoted from Australia's W-League to the A-League. Fury started their pre-season training in April, before the season kicks off in July. Scott will get around four weeks off before he has to hit the ground running when he joins pre-season training in mid-June.

Scott went over his time at Dunfermline with Bob Storrie from The Game, the Pars match day programme:-

On Joining/The Early Days

After leaving Rangers, I went south for a trial period with Portsmouth, but nothing came out of it, so I came back home to Scotland.It was Barry Nicholson who actually phoned me up and asked if I fancied joining Dunfermline.  I came over to East End Park and spoke to Jimmy Calderwood and he impressed me with the way he spoke.

I also liked the look of the set up here, and wee Barry spoke very highly about the place, so that just about sealed it for me.  I'd had one or two other offers, but I wanted the chance of regular games where I would get competition for places in the team.  Dunfermline had that in spades, due to the amount of really good players here at that time and that was the clincher.

Scott Wilson challenges Aiden McGeady during the Leishman era

Hitting the Highlights

There's been some big moments in my time here, but for me, it takes a lot to beat the feeling we all got up at Tannadice on that day we beat Dundee United and beat the drop at the same time - it was such a great relief for us, as well as the fans! Beating Hibs in Edinburgh after 40 years was another bogey laid to rest, and I also got to play in a League Cup Final and a Scottish Cup Final in successive seasons after I'd missed the 2004 Final with appendicitis. I scored a goal in the Challenge Cup Final against St Johnstone as well, but unfortunately, another day where we left empty handed. These are moments that stand out, but really, there's been a lot of big games and important matches that have made my time here very special.

European Nights

There's maybe some arguments about those games being amongst my regrets, but that would be a wee bit harsh - we did well to qualify for Europe twice, which is some achievement for any provincial club!  In our first game in Iceland, we came away with a great draw after being behind, but lost it in the last ten minutes in the return up at Perth. Against Hacken we got off to a great start here, but lost Roddy McKenzie with injury they got a somewhat lucky equaliser. Over there, we should have made more of our early chances, they got one shot on goal in the first half and scored!Scandinavian sides have certainly done no favours for us!

Ones for the Future

Right now, you don't need to look much further than Calum Woods - Calum's got the lot, he has a good attitude, he's keen to learn more, and he's a good listener. I hope that the club can hang onto him, because you just know that other clubs are looking at him right now!  Also, Nicky Phinn has had a great season - he's come back physically stronger this season, and has a lot more awareness about him - he can only get better too.

Good Friends in the Dressing Room

Players have come and gone, but the constants beside me have been Nipper (Scott Thomson) and Shieldsy (Greg Shields).  Nipper, when I first came here, was approaching his peak - a great player good enough to play for any top club.Shieldsy and I have known each other, probably since we were about 12 years old, so we've been together a long time.  Add to that guys like Craig Brewster, Steve Crawford, Gary Mason and Andrius Skerla, the club's been fortunate enough to see a lot of great players making up great teams.

Working Under Five Managers

Obviously, the two Jimmies were the start, and you have to give them enormous credit for what they achieved here.  They brought success to the club, built a great team to watch, and were always going to be a hard act to follow.

David Hay came in after they left for Aberdeen, and I'd a lot of respect for him, both on his record as a player, and on his success as a manager - he was great with me on a day to day level, so I had no axe to grind with him.

Big Leish took over after he left, and what more can you say about him that hasn't already been said - he is jut what he is!  Maybe the success melted away a bit, but it was still a great place to come and work.

With Stephen Kenny, for one reason or another, it just didn't work out for him here, but he had his moments and got us to another Cup Final - he did OK by me, and made me skipper, so again, no hard feelings!

Presently, Jim (McIntyre) is adapting well to the manager's job, considering how much harder it's going to get for him in the present climate, but he's a good guy to work with.

Regrets?

Falkirk at Hampden (shakes his head).  That was a game that was winnable for us - we certainly started a good bit better than them, and if we'd scored first, we knew we would have got there.They got the breaks, we didn't, so good luck to them.Looking back though, I've no real regrets, I've been happy here in my work, and my home life has been equally happy - we've been settled here, and that counts for so much in a person's life .

Finally

I'd like to say a big thanks to all the fans here, who have been really decent to me over the last seven years.I think they understand that us players suffer just as much as they do on the bad days, and support us well on the good ones. Dunfermline 's really grown on me over the years, and there's a lot I'm going to miss. Even my dad's a big fan now, and he's still going to renew his season ticket next year.Any time I'm back home, I'll always look in to say hello.And my biggest wish is for the club to get itself back in the SPL where I think it belongs.

Scott joined Dunfermline on 5th August 2002 and leaves having made 250 starts and three appearances off the bench. Earlier he told Dunfermline Press Sport that he almost turned the move to Queensland down:-

"I just got a phone call and was asked if I would be interested in going. It was that out of the blue I never even thought about it. My first thoughts were I don't know if it's for me and to be honest I thought it had maybe come a year too early. At first I had knocked it back but I came back to it again.

"My missus wasn't up for it at the start either but both of us are really looking forward to it. It wasn't a football decision. I was probably wanting a wee change in direction in life in general.

"It's one of those ones, if I had knocked it back, then when I stopped playing I could have thought, 'Christ, I wish I had gone to Australia'. At least we're going to try it and if we come back after a year having not liked it then at least we gave it a try."

Scott Wilson admitted that team mates such as Greg Shields and Scott Thomson, with whom he has shared the highs and the lows at East End Park over the past six years, had helped him decide.

"They are really excited for me," he said. "I told these guys first and they were probably involved in me making the decision. They've all been pretty positive about it. I think for any guy my age and at my stage of my career, it's a fantastic opportunity and that's one of the reasons why I could not knock it back."

Looking ahead to the move Wilson said, "They play one match a week which will help me and they train in the sun as well. To be honest it's great and I would have been silly if I had knocked it back and I think most people understand it."

One final reflection on his days in Fife:-

"I've been up there with Dunfermline and had great nights but I've also been rock bottom with the club and that's part and parcel of life at a smaller club. Success is hard to come by.

"Funnily enough, the time that sticks in my head was not finishing third or fourth in the league but it was winning at Tannadice to stay up (in 2004-05). It was just the feeling after the game and seeing Leish's face in the dressing room - he was so emotional.

"Last year was the pits to be honest, getting relegated and then struggling in the First Division. I was quite happy off the pitch but I wasn't happy we were getting beat every Saturday. It was just a nightmare season."

Scott's final Pars goal v St Johnstone 01/11/09

Arrangements to enable the seamless transformation from the Irn Bru First Division to the Hyundai A-League have had to be smart.

"It will be pretty hectic," he acknowledged. "The club sort out the visas but it's all the other things I have to do. Getting stuff organised is a nightmare and I've got a huge list of things to do.

"I didn't realise how big Australia actually is. We fly into Brisbane and when I looked on the map for the distance to Townsville, where we're going to stay, I thought it'd be maybe an hour and a half but it's like driving from here to Paris! However I'm going to be see parts of the world I thought I'd never see so it should be good."

He remained hopeful for Dunfermline's prospects of getting back into the SPL:-

"The financial stuff at the club has probably restricted the gaffer's choices and I wouldn't wish his job for anything. It's difficult enough as it is but next season will be really tough and that's why they've taken action. You never know though, Hamilton got promoted on a shoestring budget."

Scott Wilson Profile

Injury prevented the club captain leading Pars out one last time at East End
Park on the final day of the season but the Centenary Club had a presentation for their departing Club Captain, Scott Wilson.