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IS Dougie Imrie an absolute p***k?

The question is from a poll sent round St Mirren fans to which 67 per cent who responded agreed.

Type his name into Twitter, cue a torrent of abuse.

“An absolute master of s***housery” – @livi_fc, Livingston.

“Just a thoroughly unlikable footballer” – @EwanMubs25, Partick Thistle.

“Cheating, dirty wee scumbag” – @tonzerp, Kilmarnock.

And so it goes on.

(Image: Roddy Scott/SNS Group)

The Hamilton winger is only a few weeks into fatherhood after wife Emma gave birth to Jenson and the bad news for the haters is he’s decided to hang up his boots.

A late arrival into senior football at Clyde aged 23, Imrie made up for lost time by providing sterling service at Inverness Caley Thistle, St Mirren and Morton.

That is on top of two stints at Accies, with the 35-year-old insisting he’s Mr Nice Guy who doesn’t merit the bad press.

He said: “Football fans don’t see the person, all they see is the player who is out on the park. If you are a tough tackler and get in about it then that’s all they see – they have no insight into what that person’s like outside the game.

“They turn up and say I’m a this or that, they see me getting booked, blah, blah, blah and that tag always sticks.

(Image: SNS Group/Sammy Turner)

“It would be interesting to sit in a room and chat with some of these fans or meet them in the street as they would have a different perception of me.

“Listen, I’m hard-skinned and nothing really bothers me, which is just as well as I get it at every ground I go to. They can call me

an animal and things but it’s water off a duck’s back.

“They see a player who will fight for every inch of grass and for their team-mates.

“People say it’s a backhanded compliment and if you’re getting abuse from the terracing then you must be doing something right.

“I prefer to let it work in my favour – when I run out at these grounds and the fans start giving me stick, I just want to get one over on them. If I score a goal or set one up then it’s a bit of payback for the verbals coming from opposing fans.”

(Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602)

Imrie’s introduction into the senior game is a familiar tale of initial rejection only to refuse to take no for an answer.

He said: “I’d been at Ayr, Stirling and Dundee on trial but I was told I was too small and would never make it. Succeeding as a footballer was all I wanted to do so I refused to listen to what they were saying.

“I was playing for Lanark United against Bellshill where Tommy Coyne was the manager and he recommended me to Joe Miller and Graham Roberts at Clyde. That was the break I needed as I went in for a trial and they signed me.

“The money I was offered wasn’t the best but I gave up my job as a landscape gardener in order to chase my dream.

“If Joe and Graham hadn’t signed me then my career could have gone in the opposite direction.

“I had the bit between my teeth and knew I just had to keep going and prove people wrong as I always had a strong inner belief I could go out and perform.

“It amazes me it’s now 13 years and 500 senior appearances later that I’m now talking for the first time about retiring this summer.

“I’m calling it a day. I’ve been offered a great opportunity to coach Hamilton’s Under-18s.

“I have a new baby and I need to think about my family so these opportunities don’t come around often.”

(Image: Daily Record)

Twists of fate feature heavily in the many chapters of Imrie’s career. But one September afternoon at New Douglas Park in 2006 is

still ingrained in his mind as a reminder of how fortune can go both ways.

An accidental collision with Ross McCabe when Imrie was at Clyde resulted in the Accies kid requiring mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after a terrifying incident that saw his heart stop beating twice.

The aftershock has stayed with Imrie to this day.

He said: “The incident with Ross was a difficult time for the both of us. I made an innocuous challenge with him and what happened next you never wish on anyone.

“Ross was only 18 years old and starting his career at Hamilton.

“You never know where his career could have taken him if it hadn’t happened.

“It was so sad and it played on my mind for a very long time. Months passed and my career suffered a bit of a setback. I found it hard to go into tackles, I had a mental barrier that I needed to get over.

“Fortunately for Ross he managed to resume playing at junior level with Petershill. That was a horrible time and wasn’t nice for either myself or my family.”

That down-to-earth quality, which has been the trademark of Imrie’s time as a player, is laid bare as he sums up the highs and lows of a journey he wouldn’t trade.

He said: “Football hasn’t made me wealthy.

“I’ve always worked hard to get to where I have and people outside the game won’t realise that unless you play for the Old Firm, Hearts or Aberdeen – where you can make a few bob – footballers are just making a living like anyone else.

“We are paying our mortgages and looking after our families.

“I missed my big move. I was all set to sign for Nottingham Forest when Colin Calderwood was manager but just as it was about to happen he was sacked and it was all off. But that’s football.

“I’ve been happy with my career. I’ve played at some terrific clubs and with some fantastic players.

“Everyone wants to be financially secure and set for life but that’s never the reality for the majority of Scottish footballers.

“But if someone had said I could turn back the clock and start all over again then I would say no as I’ve loved every minute of what I have done.”