There is much joviality coming from one the jet black portacabins that serve as pitch-side changing rooms at the St Mirren Training Centre, the unmistakable sound of a tightknit group of players enjoying one another’s company.
The laughter dies down a little when this group of unattached pros emerge into the daylight and find that the sun has burned through the morning harr, and that the temperature in Ralston is now surging towards the high twenties. Suddenly, game faces – as well as liberal applications of factor 50 – are well and truly on.
PFA Scotland have for the first time this summer been offering their members who are without clubs the opportunity to go through a full pre-season, replicating the rigours of professional in-club preparations for the season ahead as closely as possible.
There is training, coaching and access to a gym, as well as breakfast and lunch laid on every day. More importantly, there is camaraderie, and support for the younger players in particular who may be anxious about where their next opportunity in football is going to come from.
“Gone are the days of running up the Gullane sand dunes, but I've really enjoyed it,” said Anton Dowds, the former Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Ayr United striker, who has been taking advantage of the facilities as he weighs up his next move.
“It's been great to get that football aspect of it. You always keep yourself ticking over and have that base level of cardio, but getting involved in the small-sided games and the explosive aspect of preseason, that is hard to replicate unless you're in with a team. This has given us that opportunity.
“We've been together now for four weeks and everyone's in the same boat. There's no egos in that changing room. Boys who have had brilliant careers have come here and there are younger boys just starting their career. It has turned into that changing room environment that's got the good banter, and everyone enjoys coming in on a day-to-day basis.
“The PFA put on a brilliant and really professional environment. It's as good as anything I've ever been involved in with plenty of physios and sport scientists to make sure you're getting rubs, ice baths, and all of that.
“On a professional side, you're saying to some of the young boys that this isn't the norm. Keep working hard and you'll be at a club that provides something like this, but be grateful for the opportunity you've got right now, and take advantage of everything that is made available to you.”
Today, there is a match, a chance for those young players to showcase their talents - or in the case of the more experienced members of the group, show that they’ve still got it - as the PFA team take on a side made up mainly of St Mirren youth players, but who also have a sprinkling of first teamers throughout their ranks as they build up their own match sharpness.
There are managers, assistants and coaches in attendance, recognisable faces from all levels of the Scottish game standing alongside scouts scribbling notes on teamsheets. And while the scorching heat and training kits may give this the look of a normal pre-season bounce game, as soon as the match kicks off, you can tell this is serious business. The ball is zipping around, the tackles are flying in, and there is a clear determination from those involved that they are going to seize their chance to shine.
Among the PFA Scotland team are some eye-catching names. Former St Mirren and Dundee United man Ryan Strain is at right back. Cammy MacPherson and Kyle Magennis, both also once of this parish, patrol the midfield. Former Celtic prospect Owen Moffat is on one flank and one-time Rangers winger Barrie McKay – still oozing class - is on the other, either side of a strike partnership of Curtis Main and Dowds, who were a Championship-level strike partnership last season at Ayr United.
Despite falling two behind early on, the PFA team soon get a grip of proceedings, with a peach of a finish from Main the highlight as they turn the game around to lead at the break.
The interval allows coach Martin Fellowes to make some changes, with the experienced Andrew Shinnie among a raft of eager subs who enter the action, as the former Rangers, Inverness, Birmingham City and most recently, Livingston man talks his colleagues through the second half.
“I wasn't quite sure what to expect,” Shinnie told me.
“It's a brand-new thing to PFA, but the setup has been excellent and very professional. There are a good bunch of lads working hard. It's been absolutely brilliant.
“I feel as though I’ve more than held my own. I feel fitter than half the young boys anyway! But nah, I've enjoyed it. It gives you that preseason feeling in a club, even though you're waiting for a chance. It's been just like going into a club and working hard.”
Shinnie’s nous allied to some of the more youthful legs alongside him help the PFA team seize control of the game, running out winners by a couple of goals in the end in a high-scoring encounter.
Winger Brandon Forbes provides the highlight of the second half, curling a beautiful finish into the top corner to put the icing on the cake, but perhaps the biggest compliment you could pay PFA Scotland and the application of these players is that had you not known, you could have been forgiven for thinking that they were a proper, senior team.
The end goal, of course, is for each of these players to find one of those, and while the likes of Dowds and Shinnie are weighing up their options and have been speaking to clubs, there are some who played alongside them here who are waiting for the phone to ring.
“It can be difficult,” Shinnie said.
“But I tell them that you just need to be patient and believe in yourself because I was in the same boat.
“I left Rangers as a youth player and there weren't loads of people at the door to sign me, which I thought there would be since I left a club of that size. I ended up going on trial to Inverness and managed to get a deal there and I kicked on. It was one step backwards to go ten steps forwards.
“Sometimes when you leave a club, you think it's the end of your career, but it can be the start if your mindset's right. Just be patient, believe in yourself, maintain good standards every day, work hard, and you'll get where you need to be.
“I would have loved something like this to be available when I was that age. I was quite fortunate throughout my career after that to never really be out of contract and need this, but when I left Rangers, I naively thought, ‘Oh, I'll just waltz into another Premiership side’, but it didn't work out that way. It was a bit quiet at the start, and it is a little bit worrying.
“Now the young boys can take their mind off it a little bit by coming in here and training. You get a chance, and there were quite a lot of good people here watching the game today. I'm sure some of them impressed.
“Hopefully, all the boys get sorted soon enough. If they don't, just be patient and keep your head down because if you do all the right things, you'll get rewarded.”
The other benefit of this camp to the experienced campaigners taking part has been the gift of time it has afforded them, allowing them to carefully consider their next step rather than grasping at the first offer that comes their way.
“This summer I've taken a bit of time to explore options elsewhere,” Dowds said.
“I had a great three years at Ayr United, but I've been in discussions with a few clubs outside Scotland and that's something that I'm now weighing up the opportunity of moving away.
“I've really enjoyed playing in Scotland and I'm still speaking to some of the clubs here too, but this being available means that you can take a bit more time and speak to clubs and not feel pressured into making a final decision.
“I feel like that's been the big benefit for me, being able to make sure that I'm keeping myself ticking over and feeling that I'm doing things right.
“I've set myself a target of seeing what happens and giving it until the end of July. Some of the clubs I’m speaking to are doing summer seasons, so they've got their mid-season break or mid-season transfer window at the minute, and it gives you a chance to see what happens.
“This has allowed me to keep myself ticking over and it has been a great focus. It takes away a bit of the anxiety of not having a club at the minute and the mental side of it. It's been brilliant.
“If something concrete comes up then I'll look forward to it, but it needs to be right for me at this stage of my career. I'm 29 and I want to go and fulfil certain ambitions that I've got in football, whether that be playing in a different league or whether I stay in Scotland and go for a team that's aiming to win the league.
“We'll see what happens.”
For Shinnie, now 36, the camp has also reassured him that he not only still has the ability to play at a high level, but that he has the desire to do so too.
“It’s been great getting in and working with good coaches and good players,” he said.
“Training and feeling fitter and sharper gives you that buzz again.
“I didn't play as much last year, as I was in more of a coaching and training capacity, which could be a transition for me at some point. I am 37 soon, so I am older, but I feel fit and feel I could bring experience and quality to a team. When that chance comes, I'll be ready.
“I would like to keep coaching in some capacity, whether it's at a club or a part-time route. Whatever the route, I'm going to look to bring the best I can on the pitch first and foremost.
“There's a lot of time in my life to coach after football, but you can't play on forever. A lot of people who stop playing have said you should play as long as you can if you're fit enough because you only get one chance at it.
“I've had a long career, but I haven't lost the love for the game. If I did lose that or felt like I was declining, I would have called it a day. I still feel I can bring quite a bit to a team, so hopefully that works itself out in the next week or two.
“In the meantime, this is great. I’m really glad I did it.”
