Brian Graham, the Partick Thistle captain who coaches the club's women's team
The Partick Thistle striker has one of the most unique jobs in the women's game. On Saturday, he scores goals for the men's team. On Sunday, he's head coach of the women's team...
Brian Graham has a very unique role at Scottish club Partick Thistle.
On a Saturday, he plays for, captains, and often scores for, the men’s first team, where he’s been finding the net regularly since joining from Ross County in 2020.
On a Sunday, he’s head coach of Partick’s women’s team, which has already included a promotion, two top six finishes, and a first Sky Sports Cup final against Rangers last season, with Graham ditching the famous black, red and yellow of the first team kit for a suited and booted approach in the space of 24 hours.
Graham has become a cult hero among Thistle fans, at the end of last season his tally of goals stood at 80 in just 163 appearances, while this season he is the second top scorer in the Scottish Championship so far, with 11 goals, as we speak in February.
“I was only just in the door really and I was approached,” recalls Graham, who since we spoke a week ago has been placed in interim charge of the men’s first team on a player-coach basis. “Jacqui Low was the chairman at the time and had spoken to me to see if I was interested.
“I must have been about 32, it was something I’d thought about, but I didn’t even have any badges. I asked if I did it would they help me get through my badges and the response was ‘no problem’. It just snowballed from there, I’ve since done my UEFA C, B and A, the next step is the Pro Licence, and I’ve never looked back.”
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Partick’s women’s team were at the time the same level as the men, sat in the second division of the Scottish football period.
They are to this day essentially an amateur to semi-professional set up at best, with the players being paid expenses only, but Graham has enjoyed the challenge of guiding the team to where they are, sat comfortably in the top division for a fourth season running, culminating last summer in a cup final against Rangers at Hearts’ Tynecastle ground.
“A lot of people said, ‘what are you doing?!’ I had a lot of sly comments about going into women’s football, saying it’s not real football and this, that and the other, but I think it’s been absolutely excellent, and for me to build up my CV all while still playing for the club. When I finish playing, I have this behind me.”
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