Across the season Club Chaplain, Rev Grant Hamilton, speaks to members of the Sons squad about life on and off the park. Last week it was skipper Mark Durnan, and this week his partner at centre-half Morgyn Neill sat down with Grant.
GH: I’ve got an obvious first question. How does it feel to be back?
“It’s good to be back and for me it is the right time to come back. After everything that happened last season and the change of ownership and all the changes behind the scenes it just felt right.
“I know the manager well. I’ve worked with him before and we have a great relationship. We’ve been in touch during all the recent changes and I was happy to wait until the club was officially able to sign players again and be part of this new stage in the life of the club.”
GH: As a Chaplain I’m interested in your support system and how you deal with difficult times. What helps you through the tough times?
“My experience has been that there are often more lows than highs in football. Some players are fortunate to experience lots of success but I’ve experienced relegation, play off hurt and red cards in amongst the good moments. Having said that, I do think the lows can make you a better player. My dad is an ex-professional and he has been my greatest support. He’s also not shy in telling me when I haven’t done well.
“The current manager is also someone I’ve been in touch with for several years since we worked together at Stranraer. When I went to Stranraer I was dealing with the consequences of leaving full-time football and the manager came in and was a great help to me.
“He built a good team of experienced players but I had to leave eventually because of financial problems at the club. We have never lost contact though and I always said I would play for him once again.”
GH: Talking of difficult times, I first met you during the Covid season? What do you remember about those days?
“It was tough for everybody and not just footballers. I was going through a hard time personally and it’s something that people don’t see. They see the game on the Saturday without appreciating that the players also have things happening at home.
“My papa, who I was very close to, came to all my games in the north and the south of the country. When Covid came he was already battling cancer. The season was cancelled and we were all restricted in our movements and I lost him at that time.
“On top of that we all had mortgages to pay so we were like any normal guy in the street as footballers at our level don’t make loads of money and we didn’t know if or when the football was come back again.
“When we did return eventually the conditions were strange. We weren’t allowed to have showers and on matchdays I often end up covered head to toe in dirt so it wasn’t ideal, especially driving home long distances damp and dirty.” (Thanks for sharing Morgyn. I didn’t mean to stir up sad memories but it’s good for people to get a better understanding of these things.)
GH: Do you have a day job and how do you manage your responsibilities?
“I work as a courier driver during the day and I’m happy with things overall. When I played for Cove I had to cut my driving hours to make time to get to Aberdeen and back. Cove were good at looking after the players so I was able to just train on a Tuesday and a Thursday.
“I have a wee boy and while I was at Alloa the manager Andy Graham recommended that I try and get a full day each week off to be with my son. I think that was good advice and I have built that into my routine as well.”
GH: Final question. What are your ambitions for the season?
“A lot of Dumbarton fans know the way I work so personally I want to give what I can to the team.
“I take pride in clean sheets and I’d like to score a few goals each season like I did before at Dumbarton. Collectively, and I mean club, fans, and the team – we all want to make up the minus 5 points as quickly as possible so we can start looking up the way in the league.
“The coaching staff have worked hard in difficult circumstances to put together and prepare a squad and I think they have assembled a good team that can challenge and do well this season.”
GH: Thanks Morgyn. It has been a pleasure talking to you.
Chaplain’s Corner is available to read in every edition of our matchday programme, Sons View.