Former Aberdeen and Derby County star on new fitness role as life without football 'difficult to get used to'

Craig Bryson was forced to hang up his boots almost a year ago now, but he admits he is still coming to terms with the decision to call it a day after 20 years on the pitch as a professional.

The 36-year-old enjoyed a largely injury-free career which spanned spells at Clyde, Kilmarnock, an eight-year stint down in England with Derby County, Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Stenhousemuir.

But he picked up an ankle injury when he joined Aberdeen in 2019 that would eventually force him to call it quits.

As he soldiered on, he still managed to help St Johnstone to their historic Scottish Cup and League Cup double in the 2020/21 season.

When he opted to go part-time in September 2022 at League Two Stenhousemuir, his ankle gave up the ghost just three games in and he has now embarked on the next part of his football journey at his hometown club.

Lowland League East Kilbride brought Bryson and business-partner Chris McClymont on board in June to become their new fitness and conditioning team, and it is a shrewd move by the club to bring in someone who was renowned for his meticulous regime as a player.

It is a new role Bryson is relishing.

But for a man who enjoyed the highs of spoiling Roy Keane’s Celtic debut with Clyde on that famous day in 2006 and silverware success at Saints, to earning three caps for Scotland, twice winning Derby’s player of the year and helping Cardiff City to English Premier League promotion in 2018, it hasn’t been an easy transition.

“It is difficult to get used to”, the former midfielder admits. “For 20-odd years I’ve been used to being told to be at a certain place at a certain time, wear this, eat that, do this, do that.

“Then, all of a sudden, you wake up one day and it is just gone. The