Blow for treble winners Colville Park AFC as they lose key man Darren Miller

Jubilant Darren Miller jumps onto the shoulders of goalscoring hero Paul McLaughlin after the strike which secured Colville Parks second straight Scottish Amateur Cup final triumph at Hampden Park last month (Pic by Alan Watson)

The heavily tattooed 24-year-old – a star of the recent 1-0 Scottish Amateur Cup final win over Southside at Hampden – has penned a one-year deal with League Two senior outfit Clyde.

“Darren was a regular for us in the second half of last season,” said Colville Park AFC secretary Andy Williamson.

“He was a very influential player and I think he’ll be a considerable loss to us.

“Darren was a busy player in the middle of the park and he took our corners and free-kicks. Other players we have can do that but maybe not to his ability.

“We will need to find a replacement for Darren.

“He was an above average player who was too good for amateur football.

“We were delighted to get him but he’s capable of playing at a higher level.”

Miller, who lists Albion Rovers, Dumbarton and Queen’s Park among his former clubs, previously had a loan spell at Clyde before joining Colville Park.

Andy said that Miller had arrived at Colville midway through last season as he “hadn’t seen eye to eye” with then Clyde gaffer Barry Ferguson.

“Darren told us last Friday that he was going to try it again at senior level,” the secretary added.

“He is a good player who is going to Clyde with our best wishes.

“I would imagine that the gulf between amateur football and playing in League Two is high, but I think Darren has the ability to cope with it.

“If he applies himself right, I don’t see any reason why he won’t do well.”

On a happier note for Colville Park, the club recently sealed a treble haul of trophies for this season by beating St Patrick’s 2-0 in the M and M Cup final at Kilsyth.

This added to the Motherwell side’s earlier success in the Scottish Amateur Cup and the Central Scottish AFL Premier Division.

Andy added: “This is the first time we have won this particular treble of trophies.

“We had an exceptionally good season and we are absolutely delighted.

“We now need to set the same goals for next season. It will be a different squad as you always get a high turnover of players at the end of every season.

“Darren has already gone, some others will retire and some squad members will no doubt go to another club where they are going to play every Saturday.

“Ideally we would like to keep them all, but it is amateur level so we have no contract with the players other than registering them with us.”