Andy Smith

Born: Aberdeen, 27th November 1968
Signed: 21st July 1995
Position: Centre Forward
Previous Clubs: Peterhead, Airdrieonians
Later Clubs: Kilmarnock, Ross County (on loan), Raith Rovers, Clyde, Gretna

Andy`s bustling style and aerial ability made him a nightmare for opposing defences. However, he was more of a player than is sometimes recognised and Andy could link play in a very positive way.

Andy`s career had begun with the then Highland League club Peterhead before signing for Airdrieonians in August 1990. Airdrie were enjoying success at the time and Andy made a name for himself scoring for Airdrie against Rangers in the 1992 Scottish Cup Final.

However, when Bert Paton signed Andy from Airdrie for a fee of £70,000 in the summer of 1995, Pars fans needed a lot of convincing that the signing had been a good idea. Andy was booed on to the pitch at East End Park on his debut against Bolton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly, and to make matters worse he broke his leg! In many ways that made the fans more sympathetic so that when he returned in December 1995, the response was much more positive.

After making his league debut on 16th December 1995, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over his former club, Andy went on to enjoy the fans’ support as he became the top goalscorer in the side in the second half of the season as the Pars won the First Division title.

In season 1997/98 he scored 26 goals while the Pars were an SPL side and as a result won a Scotland `B` cap against Norway. Despite media pressure, Andy never did win a full cap for Scotland. He was however to become Pars captain during season 1998/99 but tha didn’t prevent Dunfermline from being relegated that season.

His days were numbered when Jimmy Calderwood became manager and his final game for Dunfermline was in a 3-0 win over Livingston on 14 November 1999. In December 1999 he moved to Kilmarnock, initially on loan, and then in January 2000 he transferred permanently for a fee of £150,000.

Although Kilmarnock didn’t work out for Andy, he continued to enjoy success with later clubs. He joined Raith Rovers in 2001 and helped them to the Second Division title, then in 2003 he came to within a whisker of getting Clyde into the Premier League, losing out to Inverness by just one point. He also helped his final club Gretna to the Third Division title before retiring from playing in 2005.

He remained at Gretna in a coaching role and for a short spell was caretaker-manager. He went on to work for the SFA as a Development Officer and in addition to that Andy takes the Scottish national cerebral palsy team that has qualified for the 2015 World Cup in Basel.

Pars Career Record
Scottish League: 120 (+14 subs) apps, 47 goals
Scottish Cup: 8 apps, 10 goals
Scottish League Cup: 11 apps, 6 goals
Challenge Cup: 1 app, 0 goals