“I’ve never felt a connection like it to the community. If there’s any problems on or off the pitch, the community is out in full force to help the club.”

Kyle Lafferty has played for some of the biggest names in Scottish football: Rangers, Hearts, and Kilmarnock, as well as respected European clubs like Sion, Linfield, and Palermo. 

But now, at 37, he’s experiencing football at a different level: one that’s smaller in terms of publicity or monetary value, but richer in meaning. One at a level where the connection between players and supporters feels tighter, more genuine, and more fulfilling.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer of 2023 when Lafferty, alongside former Rangers teammate Graham Dorrans, signed for then-seventh-tier Scottish side Johnstone Burgh. Many dismissed it as a publicity stunt or a marketing ploy. But nothing could be further from the truth.

An 89-times capped Northern Ireland international, Lafferty has found a home at Keanie Park. His influence, both on and off the pitch, is clear. At the club’s Summer Fayre last Saturday, he could be seen walking the ground, chatting with fans, and posing for photos, embodying the spirit of a club deeply rooted in its community.

Fresh off scoring the winning penalty in Johnstone Burgh’s 4–2 shootout victory over Tranent in the Scottish Junior Cup final, after a 1–1 draw in regular time, Lafferty and the club have taken that victory back to where it matters most: the community. The famous old trophy has been paraded through local businesses, schools, and care homes, allowing fans of all ages to share in the joy of the club’s first Junior Cup win since 1968.

Despite a typically Scottish downpour on Saturday, the day following rays of Sunshine. The Burgh’s supporters made the most of it and still turned out in numbers, raising £500 for the Renfrewshire Food Bank and RAMH, two vital organisations supporting the area’s most vulnerable.

Lafferty is proud to be part of a team that gives back.

“Supporting the charities that we are today is really important, all of them are important,” he said.

“You’ll find that mental health has been spoken about a lot more in recent years. The club is always behind any charity that comes knocking, and the players are right behind any cause that needs a hand.”

Manager Murdo MacKinnon, the first man since Peter Donald to bring the Junior Cup back to the club, was equally passionate, insisting that the club’s greatest success isn’t silverware, but its connection with supporters and its role in the community.

“This is the heartbeat of the community, and we want to make it just that,” MacKinnon said.

“We want to do as much as we can. That was emphasised to me the minute I came through the door: this is about the community, and about everyone in it.

“Today has been a great event, it’s fantastic, really well organised, and I’m delighted to be part of it. But it’s also something we do regularly. 

“We engage with partner charities; we engage with the community. We know that people face real challenges nowadays, and if we, as a club, can help with those challenges and give people somewhere they can come, feel part of something, and feel at home, then that’s what we’ll do.

“We’ll always strive for that. It’s a major driver for our club. The community is at the heart of everything we do, and we won’t forget that.”

One man who understands that bond better than most is Chairman Brian Williams. A lifelong Burgh supporter, he was overcome with emotion when his side lifted the cup.

“I listened to the stories of ’64 and ’68 when we won it before,” he said with a huge grin. “But to actually experience that and bring it back for the people of Johnstone, the community is electric at the moment.

“The community stepped up today. It was chucking it down with rain at 12, and some of the vendors didn’t stay. 

“But the people still turned up. It’s been a successful day for everyone who’s run the fayre.”

Now competing in the West of Scotland Premier Division, Scottish football’s sixth tier, Johnstone Burgh is a club on the rise, on and off the pitch. 

They may boast a household name in Kyle Lafferty, but there are no egos here. Just a good, honest, community-rooted football club giving back to the people who stood by them through tough times.

And now that success has returned to Keanie Park, they’ve made one thing clear: they haven’t forgotten who the real heartbeat of this club is—and who backed them when the club needed it most.