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AN international break without Scotland in action? No top-flight games? What on earth will Premiership supporters do this weekend?

It’s the type of void in the football calendar that is crying out for a return of the Tennent’s Sixes.

The annual indoor tourney was the perfect way to warm up a cold January weekend and it remains fondly remembered by Scottish football fans.

There were 10 in total with Rangers winning the first in 1984, staged in Falkirk, and Partick Thistle the holders after their 1993 success at Glasgow’s SECC.

Here, Record Sport speaks to Six from the Sixes about their memories of the indoor extravaganza.

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Alex Totten - Manager, Rangers

BIG Jock Wallace asked me to take charge of Rangers for the inaugural tournament at Coasters Arena in Falkirk in 1984.

I lived in Falkirk at the time so it was a proud moment and the fact we went on to win it was just incredible and a great career memory.

We beat Dundee 6-4 in a thrilling final and it really captured the imagination of fans who turned out in great numbers to watch the tournament.

After we won it Jock Wallace decided to give the players a treat and we all went back to the hotel at Glasgow Airport to celebrate.

We had a great team with players like Davie Cooper who was tremendous and that kind of competition suited him. Jimmy Nicholl, Bobby Williamson, Derek Ferguson, Ian Redford, John McClelland and Billy Davies were all part of the squad as well.

I still have the group photo in a bag in my office in the Falkirk Stadium.

Cammy Fraser and Iain Ferguson enjoyed outstanding tournaments for Dundee who we beat in the Final – and we ended up signing both of them a few months later.

Alan Ferguson Consultant - Tennent Caledonian Breweries

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HAVING supported the Scotland national team at the World Cups from 1974-1982, Tennent’s wanted to maintain that audience with Scottish football.

But they were looking for something different and that was how the Tennent’s Sixes came about. Six-a-side football was born on the east coast of America and Canada and was played in ice rink arenas so that set the dimensions.

That was why we kicked off in Coasters in Falkirk and I’m glad the firemaster was on holiday because it was a great turnout – more people than should have been in!

But we outgrew that venue and moved to Ingliston Showground before ending up at the SECC.

When we went to the SFA with the idea they were very receptive because it gave clubs a financial lift after the New Year when games were often postponed.

England tried a similar format at the G-Mex but ours was the best in Europe and longest running, with Billy McNeill bringing Manchester City up one year and Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest taking part as well.

The Tennent’s Scottish Cup sponsorship started in 1989 and it was two expensive items so I think that was why it stopped and it had maybe run its course by then.

Stevie Fulton - Player, Celtic

I PICKED up a crystal glass for winning the Tennent’s Sixes in 1992 but a member of my family broke it so I have no reminders of my win.

But the painful memory I have is overindulging on the hotdogs the organisers laid on and suffering a terrible stitch.

That was how we refuelled between games and there were stalls next to the changing rooms but some players were just a bit smarter than me.

It’s a pity the competition ended. I enjoyed it and it was better than training. I can’t see it being revived. Nowadays, clubs wouldn’t risk their stars.

I wouldn’t say Celtic winning it was a big deal but it was nice to lift a trophy. The atmosphere was also great with a sellout most days.

Old Firm fans would turn up to watch anything involving Rangers and Celtic but while the rivalry was still there it was a more pleasant, family atmosphere.

Archie MacPherson - Commentator

THE tournament that stands out for me is the inaugural one in 1984 in Falkirk.

It was refreshing because it was new to us as all we’d seen before that was unfit, middle-aged men playing five-a-sides.

Suddenly this was professional players having a go at indoor football. It was a change and the whole idea was to

stimulate interest in indoor football.

It paid off to a certain extent, it was quite entertaining but in terms of football viewing we’re very conservative and I think the taste for it wore off.

One thing I would say is we didn’t learn any lessons from it. They didn’t expand on it. There are so few indoor facilities for proper football training in Scotland compared to Nordic countries for example. We just didn’t spend enough money and invest in the facilities.

Players took it seriously. If you get the Old Firm involved in anything then it becomes serious. Davie Cooper stood out that first year because of his skill. He might only have had one foot but it was a brilliant one and the format – a cross between real football and Tanner ba’ stuff – suited him.

Gerry Britton - Player, Partick Thistle

(Image: SNS)

NEVER mind our 1971 League Cup win over Celtic – Partick Thistle are the current holders of the Tennent’s Sixes.

We won the last silverware in 1993 and it’s still in our trophy cabinet. The players each received a Jim Bowen Bullseye-style tankard for winning it and we had one of our best team nights out after it.

We ended up in the Savoy nightclub in Glasgow and Paul Kinnaird was the centre of attention. His trademark move on the pitch was the Savoy Shuffle so he was giving it big licks on the dancefloor.

Paul McLaughlin scored twice in the 4-3 semi-final win over St Johnstone and hit a hat-trick in the Final when we beat Airdrie by the same scoreline.

Paul had one of the hardest strikes I’ve seen. Our gameplan was get the ball to big Paul and he’d shoot from anywhere.

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Murdo MacLeod - Assistant boss, Hibs

IF anyone was in doubt about how seriously the Tennent’s Sixes was taken then speak to any Hibs fan at the tournament in 1993.

Needing to beat Celtic by two clear goals to pip St Johnstone to a semi-final place, we were on course thanks to strikes from Pat McGinlay and Willie Miller.

We were then keeping possession as the clock ran down only for referee Bill Crombie to step in and award a free-kick against us for timewasting.

Gerry Creaney went up and scored and that led to angry scenes at the end. Darren Jackson had to be pulled away.

I’d never known a team to be penalised for timewasting when the ball is in play. It was up to Celtic to get the ball off us.

But the Tennent’s Sixes was fantastic and gave fans a close-up view of the players. In Germany it’s a big thing and during the winter shutdown they have indoor tournaments all over the country.

What are your greatest memories of the Tennents Sixes? Tell us your stories in the comments section below.