🗣️ John Lambie said: "I'm not f*cking going." How Thistle won the Tennent's Sixes
A God-fearing manager, an unlikely hero and a knees-up in the Savoy nightclub – memories of Partick's 1993 tournament triumph from a club legend who was there
This week, it was announced that the Tennent’s Sixes will return to Scottish football in October after a 33-year absence. The last team to win the tournament was Partick Thistle. Here, their former striker Gerry Britton takes us inside the Jags’ improbable trophy lift.
By Gerry Britton
In 2023, when I was still working at Partick Thistle as chief executive, somebody mentioned that it had been 30 years since we won the Tennent’s Sixes. So, we had a wee night at Firhill. Gerry Collins came along and we got four or five of the players too. We were jokingly saying: “This is the last national trophy Thistle won. It was the League Cup final in 1971… and this!”
We got about 100 fans and it was a Q&A with the players. Everybody talked about their recollections of the night, but more about their Thistle careers. The guys that turned up were all good theatre… big Davie Irons, Paul Kinnaird telling great Jim McLean stories. It was a top night. We even tracked down the Tennent’s Lager ladies (from the above photo). One of them, June (centre left), is Derek Johnstone’s other half — she came along with her daughter. I actually got in touch with the other girl, but she couldn’t make it.
As part of the pre-event publicity, me, Davie Irons and Andy Murdoch went to the Tennent’s brewery and got our pictures taken with the trophy. The fact that we had a reunion for winning a sixes competition is so Partick Thistle, you know?
The hero of the tournament was big Paul McLaughlin. I don’t know how many goals he scored, but you would just give the ball to him and he would shoot from anywhere. Paul wasn’t the most mobile player but he had a great strike on his left foot and getting him in front of goal was far easier in a tight environment like the Tennent’s Sixes. We had other guys like Kinnaird, George Shaw, Ian Cameron and big Irons — who was so fit and could run all day. We were set up for a six-a-side team.
I loved it because you got so many shots at goal. You had to leave two players up in the opposition half, so you knew you were going to get five or six shots during every game. And because of the rules, you couldn’t even track back. So I was shouting, “Sorry, I cannae mark him, I’ve got to stay up here!” Brilliant.
I think the tournament was on a Sunday and Monday. Imagine saying that to players now: “Monday night, lads, we’re playing six-a-side. Indoors.” Not a chance! I remember John Lambie saying: “I’m not fucking going.” He was trying to make out that it was because it was on a Sunday and he was God-fearing. A lot of shite. He just couldn’t be arsed going, and he sent big Gerry Collins. It was only when we won it and went back in that Lambie tried to take credit for it even though he wasn’t there.
I had played for Celtic in the tournament a couple of years before that, and I remember Nottingham Forest came up. Brian Rice told me that they were staying in the old Albany, which is the Hilton now. He said that Brian Clough was walking them along to the SECC and took them into the Montrose Bar on the Broomielaw, where they all had three or four pints before the tournament! Other English teams came up for it too — it was box office.
It was a great atmosphere and the games were fast and furious. It was brilliant for families — all the Celtic and Rangers fans sat together. Keeping possession was important. If you went a goal up, it was vital that you got the ball into the opposition half and kept it, otherwise it would become like a basketball game.
The pitch? It was more painted concrete than 3G! I remember a couple of times tiles would come up, and they said, “Ah, right, okay, hold on a minute guys. We’ll just try and fix this tile.”
The other thing I remember was the night out after it. We went to the Savoy nightclub in Glasgow city centre. On a Monday night. I wouldn’t recommend it. We all ended up in there getting our Tennent’s tankards filled up behind the bar!
I’m glad to see it back, although it’s a shame that Thistle aren’t part of it. There’s a few of the boys who would still be more than capable of playing… but I’m not one of them!
Partick Thistle legend Gerry Britton is now COO of the incredible charity Street Soccer Scotland. Their free Women’s Festival, next week in Glasgow, is open to people of all ages, backgrounds and fitness levels. Join them for a day of Zumba, football, ice cream, a live DJ and the chance to meet new people!
