Inspired by Albion Rovers’ role in the community, McLean has become a regular visitor to the Lanarkshire club’s Cliftonhill Stadium home, documenting their fortunes for over 20 years.
He has been with them and their fans on Cup runs that took in Rangers and Celtic, as well as focusing on the hard times of deserted stadiums and strictly enforced restrictions in the aftermath of Covid.
Originally from East Kilbride, south of Glasgow, freelance photographer Iain McLean describes himself as “instinctively a Celtic fan”. But disillusioned with the big business feel of such a major club, something which resonates with a lot of supporters, McLean turned his attention towards Albion Rovers in the year 2000 and has followed them ever since.
He began taking pictures that year, when granted access by a pal who edited the club programme. Work commitments hindered him attending regularly in those early days, but his project, More Than Just A Football Club, really took off from the 2010-2011 season.
Says McLean: “I liked the sense of community at the club. The chairman would often be at the gate welcoming people, and actually remembered your name. Not something you’d get at a big club.
“So it was friendly, but winning over confidence was tricky. I had to show the fans I wasn’t here to humiliate them and in time I was accepted.
“Other than the sense of community I love the odd things that happen, the little cameos – the dog being fed a pie, the security person fooling around wearing a gas mask, passing the charity scratch card around the crowd. Little nuggets of joy.”
A highlight for McLean was a large photographic exhibition at Coatbridge’s Summerlee Museum in 2019, celebrating Albion Rovers’ 100 years at their Cliftonhill Stadium ground.
“We worked hard to get funding,” he said, “and the result was a comprehensive show centred around the history of the stadium.”
McLean started the project using a Canon EOS5, with Ilford HP5 film, but moved to digital first using a Canon EOS5d camera. “Laterally I’ve been using a Fuji XT4 as it’s smaller and less obtrusive,” he said.
McLean’s football roots go back to his early support of Celtic and he still has a soft spot for Celtic legend Henrik Larsson.
“Larsson was my all time favourite player but within the lower leagues Alan Trouten and Alan Reid were my two favourite Rovers players.
“Reidy was a long servant to Albion Rovers (11 years) and was a fast, skilful right back. I still have an Alan Reid badge which was given to me at his testimonial game.”
Earliest football memory was being taken to see Celtic play at Patrick Thistle by his Uncle Alex, a Thistle fan.
“He got a frosty response after dropping me off at home,” recalled McLean, “as I’d managed to fall into a puddle and my powder blue coat was filthy.
“I played as a winger for my class team at Secondary School and liked being part of a team but despite trying hard, I was pretty mediocre to be honest.
“From a young age football was a vehicle to be part of a group, a tribe if you like. For many it was a release from everyday life and I especially remember Scotland v England games being a big thing in our house with mum serving pies and beans at half time.
“Later in life when I became wary of clubs being turned into big businesses, I started photographing amateur football for the Glasgow Evening Times.”
That inspired McLean to investigate further. He summed it up: “Seeing lower league football played in front of small crowds and in quirky stadiums ignited an interest in how smaller clubs are part of their local community.
“I like the idea of a narrative in photography, something linking the images together rather than the ‘stand-alone’ image. A collection of photos can often give more depth to a subject and is personally more satisfying.”
“I like the idea of a narrative in photography, something linking the images together rather than the ‘stand-alone’ image. A collection of photos can often give more depth to a subject and is personally more satisfying.
“I really enjoy seeing the work of Stuart Roy Clarke (Homes of Football), and of Scottish maverick Brian Sweeney (Great Stadiums of the North).
“Daniel Gray is a superb writer and is the editor of Nutmeg Magazine so I was thrilled when his words accompanied my pics in a photo essay on Rovers in Nutmeg in September 2018.”
For McLean it is all about the club’s status within the community.
“I have no real interest in football or fashion style subculture,” he says, “but I do enjoy the sense of community and many of my photos are taken from around the ground showing the stadium’s place in the local community.”
He continues: “Our stadium is not modern, it has a large wooden stand with basic facilities but we do love it. There are 100 years of memories in the wooden seats and in the rickety press box at the back of the stand – I’d never trade these for a new stadium made from steel and concrete.”
McLean the photographer has his own set of guidelines that have helped steer him along the way.
“Don’t be afraid,” he says, “and know your kit inside out.”
If you enjoyed that, you may also like Chelsea FC – And Now Are You Going To Believe Us, where photographer and supporter John Ingledew provides a 25 year photographic record of Chelsea and their fans as they take their place at the pinnacle of English and European football.
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