ARBROATH

After conquering the fourth and third tiers, Arbroath climbed to the summit of another division this term in their quest to reach the Scottish Premiership... despite being the only part-time team in the league. FFT chats to their lively managerial double act – twin brothers Dick and Ian Campbell – about Scotland’s most romantic tale of 2022

Words Chris Flanagan

’

A rbroath had just moved to the summit of Scotland’s second tier against all expectations in December, when their manager received a phone call. Sir Alex Ferguson was on the other end of the line, and he had a four-word message he was eager to deliver. “We’ve been pals for years,” Dick Campbell tells FFT now. “He phoned me and said, ‘Miracles can happen, son’.”

Having made his name by masterminding Aberdeen’s European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over the mighty Real Madrid, Fergie knows a thing or two about miracles. Just 45 miles down the east coast, another quite extraordinary story has been unfolding in recent years – one that could yet end with a part-time team reaching the top flight.

Arbroath are the fishing port club who famously battered Bon Accord 36-0 in an 1885 Scottish Cup match –a world record victory that still stands today – but they’ve rarely been in the limelight in the ensuing 137 years. Known more for a ground that sits just five metres away from the North Sea, the club’s first league championship didn’t come until 2011, when they topped Scotland’s fourth tier.

By March 2016, they were back down in League Two and at serious risk of dropping into the Highland League, battling with Berwick Rangers and East Stirlingshire to avoid a relegation play-off. But then came the arrival of the Campbell twins – former Brechin and Forfar boss Dick, together with brother Ian, his trusted assistant. “The first game was at Berwick and we got beat 3-0,” remembers Dick. “I just said to my brother, ‘What the f**k have I done?’”