Kris Doolan is heading back to Auchinleck Talbot – the club that got him his big break in Scottish football – but this time, he won’t be lacing up his own boots.

Instead, he’ll be teaching youngsters how to find the back of the net as he launches the Kris Doolan Football Academy, in partnership with the Beechwood Park side.

“Auchinleck Talbot Youth Academy were keen to get involved,” Kris told YFS in an exclusive interview. “

“I think professional players have a lot to offer to youngers players. I thought, how can I use everything I’ve learned in football and all the contacts I have in the game to try and raise the profile of teams and players?”

“We set up so we can help younger players by using good professionals with a lot of experience at the top level of Scottish football because sometimes they need that guidance and there is nothing better than having a professional player take your session and giving you advice.”

Auchinleck Talbot have been the giants of non-league football for decades and have always been known for producing a high calibre of promising players. The club’s academy announced on June 27 that they would be hoping to further players development with a newly established partnership with the Kris’ new academy.

A statement on the club’s academy social media pages said: “We are delighted to announce that ATFC Youth Academy & Kris Doolan Football Academy have entered into a working partnership”.

Kris started his career in non-league football with Kello Rovers, before moving to his hometown team, Auchinleck Talbot. He spent one season there before joining professional club Partick Thistle, where he became the club’s record goal scorer with over 100 goals.

“This is a very exciting partnership for our youth academy, as Kris and his team will offer expert help and support to our youth coaches and youth players,” the club statement concluded.

The Kris Doolan Football Academy offers one-to-one, entire team and specialised positional sessions that are coached by Kris himself and other pros. These sessions are carried out with clubs at grassroots level all the way up to professional level.

The Partick Thistle legend explained to YFS his thoughts behind setting up his own academy.

“What we don’t want to see is players falling out academies at 20 years-old, hating football because they’ve been released by clubs. We would come in and give them guidance and try link them up with clubs.”

Kris, who played for Ayr United and Greenock Morton last season, plans to have his coaching sessions with Talbot up and running (within Government Covid-19 guidelines in place) as soon as the club are given permission by the West of Scotland Football League to train again.

 “I grew up in Auchinleck and I was at Talbot for a year before I went to Partick Thistle, so it’s my hometown and I want to help.

“If it means we are overseeing things at the Auchinleck Academy and one player gets into the Talbot first team, that’s a success for us and the coaches at Auchinleck”.

“I’m really excited and so are Talbot because Auchinleck is a very well-established club and we want to progress that even more; I want everyone to be proud of Auchinleck Talbot Youth Academy.”

The step-up from non-league football to senior football is a big point in any young players career and some players can’t adapt to the difference in quality and environment senior football brings. 

As someone who has played consistently at both levels Kris shared his advice on how to adapt a young player.

“There’s a big gap from junior to senior football but if you do things in the right manner and you’ve got good habits that gap can be overcome by doing certain things and I want the kids to know this along with the pitfalls at a very young age.”

“I always say the best players are the best learners.”

Beith Juniors have won the ‘Donate A Ticket’ Scottish Cup, after a dramatic final against fellow Scottish Junior side Tranent Juniors. The club won the tie with a total of 969 £5 ticket donations, with both clubs raising a total of £9,170.

YFS’ Matthew Muir spoke to Club Secretary, Chris Irving, who expressed delight at the club’s achievement and at how much money was raised throughout the competition – some of which will help with the sides venture into the new Lowland Development League.

“It was fantastic last night when with just a few minutes to go we were ahead by over 100 tickets and realised we had won it. The tie really went to the wire. In terms of the money raised, it has been absolutely overwhelming and way beyond any expectations we had.”

The ‘Mighty’ faced many clubs on their way to the final, going up against Sauchie, Cambuslang Rangers and Newtongrange Star in the semi-final but the highlight of the cup came when they drew SPFL side Raith Rovers.

Chris said: “Beating Raith Rovers in the quarter-finals was probably the highlight for us given their high profile in Scottish football – they were the highest ranked club in the competition and come with a huge fanbase.”

‘Donate A Ticket’ is a football fundraising platform founded to help football clubs across the UK & Ireland raise money in the form of a match ticket.

Chris explained: “We heard about the campaign after we had seen other clubs posting on social media regarding getting involved. At that point, the concept of the ‘Donate A Ticket’ Scottish Cup hadn’t even come about so we had zero expectations of how much we could raise.

“Initially, we had been posting on social media for supporters to buy tickets for our cancelled games and even when the Scottish Cup campaign was put to us by Ruaridh Kilgour at ‘Donate A Ticket’ we were initially unsure as everyone is going through difficult times and we were uncertain about asking for even more tickets for what was originally to be a weekly competition.”

Chris continued: “Like every club at the moment, times are tough with no real income coming in.

“We have had no games since early March and given the current financial uncertainty that many businesses are facing, asking for sponsorship is also difficult and something we have held back on.

The money coming in will be a massive help to see us through the coming season once and may even help towards future renovation works at Bellsdale Park.

“We have also joined the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) and in order to progress beyond that, should we be successful on the pitch, we would install floodlights as we do not have any, therefore unexpected boosts like the ‘Donate A Ticket’ campaign will allow the club to start thinking ahead”.

“We have also brought in a new u20s side which will play in the Lowlands Development League and will be managed by Chris Wilson. We look forward to working with Chris and his team and seeing the boys in action once football resumes.”

Chris also gave us an insight into the business happening at the Ayrshire club as they look forward towards the launch of the 2020/21 season.

“We have managed to complete our new Changing Room facility recently with some hard work from volunteers as well as carrying on with the yearly maintenance of the pitch and the terracing areas. We have also taken part in SFA Webinars in order to start preparing Bellsdale Park for the club’s return.

“In terms of the playing side, we have seen eight players leave, with some club legends amongst them, but manager Bryan Young has brought in eight new players as we enter into what is a new era both on and off the park.

Chris concluded with a message for the fans, thanking them for their ongoing support for the club.

“We have been completely taken aback by the response we have had, even prior to the Scottish Cup campaign.

“Our fans are crucial to us and the ‘all in it together’ mentality we are trying hard to create at the club has really came to the fore over the last few weeks.

“We just want our fans to know that without them we are nothing, and that hopefully together we can have more good times on the pitch going forward into what is a new era for the Club.”

To follow Beith Juniors and find out more about the club, follow their Twitter page @BeithJuniorsFC and to find out more about ‘Donate A Ticket’, go to their website at donateaticket.com