As welcome as it may have been, the progress seen in Scottish football since the arrival of the pyramid system twelve years ago has come at a price.
You rarely hear of players fleeing stock car racing in Cowdenbeath’s Central Park these days or the fact that Berwick Rangers still combine speedway with football at Shielfield.
Albion Rovers’ Cliftonhill ground remains ramshackle and charming, but is now largely forgotten. Today, East Stirlingshire have little to cling to other than the fact that they were the first club to employ Alex Ferguson as manager. More is the pity.
While days in the sun for some of the game’s minor stars were always rare, they have been virtually non-existent since that quartet quietly entered the Lowland League.
Talking about returning in a big way one day is easy. A table that doesn’t show any of those former stalwarts in the top six of the fifth tier right now suggests it won’t happen anytime soon.
However, there is reason at Angus to believe that the exile of another big name in the game will only be a temporary situation.
The image of fans lining the Glebe Park hedge is an iconic image of British football.

Brechin, who now resides in the Highland League, will enjoy his return to the big stage this week.

Ally McCoist was in charge of Rangers when they began their ‘journey’ back to Glebe Park in 2012.
When Brechin City finally collapsed in 2021, for geographical reasons the club dropped to the Highland League.
Only the absence of a piece of good luck has kept them there. After finishing third, they won the title in 2023, but lost to the Spartans in a tiebreaker. Last season, Buckie Thistle beat them on goal difference.
They currently sit top of the table and have lost just one game in 19, and feel the door to League Two will open for them again soon.
No harm done to those rising teams looking to become the next Kelty Hearts or Bonnyrigg Rose.
But Brechin’s return will surely be welcomed by anyone who has spent an afternoon in this town of just over 7,000 inhabitants.
This afternoon we will remember what we have missed when the television cameras arrive at Glebe Park for the Scottish Cup match against Hearts.
With trees in the background, a famous hedge as a backdrop to the north side of the course and on-field patterns so impressive that Subbuteo recently used it in an advert, it will be nice to reconnect with one of the most iconic courses in the game. It’s been too long.
The name on the outside of the main stand recalls happier times: David H. Will, a lawyer by profession, was president for two decades before becoming president of the SFA and vice-president of FIFA.

The club has gained worldwide fame for its unique field patterns.
Under his guidance, little Brechin came close to gaining promotion to the Premier League in 1984.
The next 40 years have been very varied. In the 1990s alone there were five division changes in five seasons.
Dick Campbell took them from the fourth tier to the second in short order in the 2000s, although his twin brother Iain, the club’s record goalscorer, did not fare as well when he succeeded him.
The famous old venue was where current Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill began his managerial career in 2006.
Six years later, they hosted Rangers in a live television Challenge Cup tie which was the Ibrox club’s first match since liquidation. Carlos Bocanegra and Lee McCulloch were on Ally McCoist’s side that day (a nervy 2-1 away win).
Current Rangers player Connor Barron was also on loan at Brechin during his Aberdeen days.

Dick Campbell celebrates his Brechin team’s League Cup victory over Kilmarnock in 2003
In 2018, the Hedgemen created unwanted history by collecting just four points in the Championship, becoming the first senior team in 126 years not to win a game.
This caused a decline that caused three declines in four years. Bottom of League Two in 2020, the suspension of football spared them the ignominy of a play-off.
A year later, after finishing in the same place, they were beaten by Kelty and have been stuck in the Highland League ever since.
Others in their situation might be privately happy with their new existence, but the club’s desire to climb back up to the fourth tier and beyond is obvious.
‘Do you want to see Brechin City and its iconic Glebe Park and world-famous hedgerow in the SPFL?’ read a section on their website.
“The club is currently on a journey to create history in Scottish football and become the first to beat the pyramid system and regain entry to the SPFL.

The Angus club was relegated from League Two after a few years of free fall
“To help the club achieve its ambitions and plan for its future success, all our supporters, near and far, can become a Hedge Hero and commit to making a monthly or one-off donation.”
Current President Kevin Mackie echoes this sentiment.
“We’ve been handcuffed to that Highland League for four years, so we hope to get out of it soon,” he said.
“You certainly hope so, but the system is flawed. Clubs like ours basically invest a lot of money to have even the slightest chance of returning.
‘We deserve a break, is all I’m saying, without being ungrateful.
‘The Highland League has been really welcoming, fantastic. But it’s a cup final every Saturday you leave home.
‘You are the ones who want to win. You have to take it on the chin.

Former Arsenal and former Falkirk and Hibs midfielder Patrick Cregg is now City boss
‘What has been a bitter pill to swallow is the fact that we received a payment when we went down, but most of it went towards travel expenses.
‘When we were in League Two we rarely took the team bus. But we need one almost every week.
With the game about to sell out and a check for television coverage on the way, the coffers will get a much-needed boost. But what cannot be valued is the sense of occasion.
“Listen, the plan was to get to the fourth round, so the guys did it,” Mackie adds.
“I think it’s sold out because there are only a handful of tickets left.
“The atmosphere will be good, the city and the players will be encouraged and the fans will be rewarded.”
Now managed by former Falkirk midfielder Patrick Cregg, Brechin is not short of connections with the Premiership giants.

Brechin has become a big shot in the small Highland League group.
Former Hearts players Kevin McHattie, Anthony McDonald and Brad McKay are on his books. So is Cillian Sheridan, a man for many clubs including Celtic and Motherwell.
None of the three ex-Jambos were based in Gorgie the last time Hearts faced Highland League opposition, but they would have had to be living in a cave not to have heard all about it.
Four years ago, while attempting a Championship comeback, Robbie Neilson’s men lost 2-1 to Brora Rangers at Dudgeon Park. The current team will underestimate Brechin at their own peril.
“We went in there as big underdogs,” Mackie emphasized. But stranger things have happened.
“I told Paddy this morning to go and enjoy the occasion.”
After the most torrid period in its history, Brechin surely has a right to that.
BRECHIN CITY VS HEARTS
Kick off: Friday, 7:45 p.m., Glebe Park.
TV: LIVE BBC Scotland.
Referee: Grant Irvine.