‘I wanted to go out when I still felt I could perform’: Wick keeper plays last Highland League game 20 years on from debut
James More paid tribute to successive Wick Academy managers who showed faith in him in the early stages of his goalkeeping career after making his last Highland League appearance for the club.
“Twenty years is long enough,” the 36-year-old said after helping the Scorries to a 4-1 victory over Lossiemouth at Harmsworth Park on Saturday.
More made his debut aged 16 in a 2-0 away victory against Brora Rangers in April 2005 when Alistair Budge was in charge and he went on to rack up 166 competitive appearances.
More will continue in his role as goalkeeping coach.
“You look back on your career and ideally you would like to have played more games,” he said post-match. “But I must have been in quite a few squads.
“I’ll do other bits and pieces behind the scenes and I’ll maybe look at going on the committee now my playing days are over. I’ll still be part of the club.”
When asked about some of the highs and lows of his Wick career, More picked out his first game and the 2012/13 season when Academy scored over 100 league goals and won all 17 of their home games but missed out on the title by four points, finishing third.
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“I will always look back on my debut as one of my best ones,” he said. “And the season we finished third, it’s a high and a low.
“It’s a high because we did so well with the 100 per cent record, and the goals. We played Cove Rangers at home towards the end of the season and that was probably my best game, I would say.
“But in some ways it’s a low that we came so close and didn’t get anything to show for it.
“It was a great squad. I’ve been lucky, I’ve played with a lot of really good players.
“I must thank Alistair Budge for throwing in a 16-year-old goalie, because managers tend not to like playing young goalies, so I must thank him for showing a bit of faith in me then.
“And Peter Budge, and Tichie and Zeeky [Richard Hughes and Ian Munro], they came in after. I was still a young goalie then but they still put faith in me.
“I think I was Tichie and Zeeky’s first signing when I signed my first professional deal after being on a youth contract.
“Then Davie Kirkwood came in, and Barry Wilson, and Gordon Connelly. I didn’t play too much under Tom McKenna, it was more coaching, and now it’s Gary [Manson].”
More is pleased with the progress being made by the current Wick team, with up to seven teenagers being given game time alongside the more experienced players. The Scorries have been clicking into gear nicely in the closing months of the campaign and have been beaten just once in their last six matches.
“In some ways it’s similar to the team I played with when I was younger,” he said. “We were a young side and we were usually in the bottom half of the table.
“Then we grew and grew and obviously had a few years when we were one of the top sides in the league – nobody wanted to come up to Wick and play us.”
More’s final Highland League appearance looked in danger of being cut short when he rushed out of his box and collided with a Lossie attacker in the early stages of the game. Fortunately for More, referee Scott Donohoe felt that a booking was adequate.
“I panicked a wee bit,” More admitted. “The ref saw sense and kept it at a yellow.
“Lossiemouth put us under a bit of pressure but the boys defended well. We were clinical when the chances came, so it was good.”
Family commitments played a big part in More’s decision.
“I’ve got the family at home, and a new baby on the way – that’s why I didn’t quite make it to the end of the season,” he explained.
“And I always thought to myself I would rather stop playing when I still feel that I’m good enough to play, rather than waiting until the stage where I can’t do it any more. I wanted to go out when I still felt I could perform.”
More, who works as an electrician on onshore wind turbines, is chairman of youth football club East End. His eight-year-old daughter Lily was one of the East End under-12 girls on duty as ball assistants at Saturday’s game.
Gary Manson praised More’s contribution to Wick Academy on and off the park.
“He could easily keep going in terms of fitness and ability,” the manager said. “James does a lot of work away from the pitch, and with his family life it’s probably easier for him to take a back seat from the playing side.
“He does a lot of coaching with the goalkeepers and he does a lot of work other than that as well.”
