Jamie Ewings spent nine seasons at Dumbarton, initially as the club’s second-choice goalkeeper to Stephen Grindlay, before becoming the club’s number one under Ian Murray.
The arrival of Danny Rogers in 2014 again saw Ewings demoted to second choice however, before a serious back injury suffered in the pre-season of 2015 signalled the beginning of the end of his playing career.
He retired from football in the summer of 2018 after spending the previous seasons as the Sons’ backup goalkeeper to Alan Martin and Scott Gallacher.
During that time he also became the club’s goalkeeper coach, a role he held until October 2019.
Prior to arriving at the Rock ‘Jaz’ had played for Alloa Athletic, Albion Rovers, Irish side Drogheda United, Albion Rovers and Motherwell.
He now works as a goalkeeping coach with the SFA’s Performance Schools and with the youth sides at Motherwell.
Goalkeeper - Andy Goram
Andy was phenomenal. As a Rangers fan he was my hero growing up and I was in awe of the man. You genuinely couldn’t beat him in training at Motherwell. It was absolute scary how good a player he was.
Right-back - Paul McGinn
One of the fittest guys I’ve ever played with. Paul hard in the tackle, good in the air and always a threat going forwards. His spell at Dumbarton did him the world of good and look where he is now, playing in the Premiership every week at Hibernian. He’s a great guy as well.
Left-back - Steven Hammell
Broke into the Motherwell first team at 17 and played there for the majority of his career. He had an absolute wand of a left foot, and like McGinn is fit as a fiddle. His knowledge of the game is unreal having seen it close hand as he’s my gaffer at Motherwell’s academy now...so I had to put him in! In all seriousness though he should have been involved more for Scotland throughout his career in my opinion.
Centre-back - Graham Gartland
Just shades it ahead of Ciaran Donnelly for me. I played with Garto at Drogheda United before he eventually came to play for St Johnstone and was recently assistant manager of Dundee with Neil McCann. He was strong in the tackle and superb in the air. He really helped me when I got into the team at Drogheda United and has a fantastic knowledge of the game, reads it brilliantly and is a real leader.
Centre-back - Andy Graham
What can you say about the big man?! He plays with his heart on his sleeve and a never-say-die attitude. I remember seeing him getting knocked out against Hamilton one day in front of me when we were both at Dumbarton. He lay there and when the physio came on he said he was fine. That’s the type of guy you want in your team.
Right-mid - Stephen Pearson
Me and the big man signed the same day for Motherwell and he went on to earn the club a lot of money off the back of some frightening performances for the first team. He was quick, strong, fit and had a great footballing brain. He was always going to make that step up, eventually for Celtic, the national team and with Derby County in the Premiership.
Left-mid - James McFadden
The best player I ever played with. An absolute magician with the ball, you just couldn’t get it off him. He had skill, strength, heart and desire. It wasn’t just because he was a mate, but I loved watching him when he played for Scotland. Those goals against Holland and France will live long in the memory. The determination from him to become a top player was evident from my first day at Motherwell and he had only just turned 17.
Centre-mid - Chris Turner
A tidy player on the ball with a bit of dig as well. He wasn’t easily bullied and his vision was on a different level from others. Chris was really unlucky with injuries at times but in our play-off push season at Dumbarton I thought he was unbelievable for us.
Centre-mid - Scott Chaplain
I played with Chappy at Albion Rovers where he was one of the country’s best goalscoring midfielders. The timing of his runs into the box was phenomenal and he was always in the right place at the right time. I’ve known him for a long time as we went to the same school and always knew he was going to carve out a career in the game.
Forward - Scott McDonald
The angriest little Australian I’ve ever come across, but by god what a player he was. Strong, quick, a pest to play against, goalscorer. He was a tremendous professional too. He came to Motherwell having played little football and carrying a bit of weight, recognised the opportunity he had and then got his dream move to Celtic – just through sheer determination and hard work. Or at least a mixture of that along with his talent.
Forward - Christian Nade
A good old-fashioned target man who was brilliant to play alongside. Defenders just couldn’t deal with him. He was never going to run away from people but his ability to bully defenders and bring others into the game was unbelievable. Scored some really important for Dumbarton when he was there. We used to sit next to each other and he was just a lovely big guy.
