Former Stranraer and East Kilbride hero hangs up his boots

Sean Winter hopes he is remembered as an East Kilbride legend, after retiring from the game at 34.

But the way he left K-Park, 11 goals shy of 100 at Lowland League level, still leaves a sour taste for the striker.

Winter says a combination of work commitments, family life and “his body not doing what he wants to” means the time is right.

The ex-Stranraer star said: “Retiring is something I’d been thinking about for a couple of years, and not something I took lightly.

“A big thing for me was my fitness. You’re coming up against these young boys who are fit and can run all day, and I didn’t feel that I was performing to the levels that I know I can, and it was frustrating.

“My mind wanted to do things that my body couldn’t do any more, and I just felt the time was right. I have a wife and two kids who are at an age where I really want to be starting to spend as much time with them as I can.

“At my work as well, I’m a manager at Arnold Clark, my responsibility in the last couple of years has gone up 10 times what it was pre-Covid.

“I just felt the time was right. I’m young enough and I’m still able-bodied enough to do a lot of things that I want to do, away from football.”

Winter, who was loyal to the clubs he played with, started out in the Juniors with Ayrshire side Arthurlie before stepping up to senior football at Stranraer in 2010. He spent five years at Stair Park before a move to the Lowland League beckoned in 2015.

During a six-year stint with his hometown club, Winter helped the club to two Lowland League title, scored in the vital win over Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale that earned their famous Scottish Cup clash with Celtic - a game he missed himself due to a family holiday in Australia - and won seven cup