For Tommy ‘Tucker’ Sloan, medals aren’t something to tally up. Instead, they become playthings in backyard games with his grandson.

“I have a few stashed away in drawers and some in the shed out back. I mean no disrespect—I cherished winning them—but medals just aren’t my priority,” shares Sloan, a leading figure in Scottish football management.

While Sloan might downplay his medals, his passion for victory is undeniable. “Performance is important, sure, but at the end of the day, the outcome matters most. Even if we don’t play our best and win 1-0, I’ll gladly take it,” he explains.

As for the number of trophies Sloan has secured for Talbot, he admits, “Honestly, I have no idea, mate. I never keep track. Henry Dumigan, our club secretary, would know better.”

A quick look at the club’s website reveals that Sloan has clinched eight Scottish Junior Cups as a manager, along with one during his playing days with Kilwinning Rangers. His collection also includes two West of Scotland Cups, two West of Scotland Junior Cups, four Ayrshire Junior Cups, six Ayrshire League Cups, three Evening Times Cups, and seven Western Premier Division titles.

Tommy Sloan has been manager of Auchinleck Talbot for the past 23 years

Sloan will have his work cutout in the next round of the Scottish Cup – his side face Celtic

When he’s not a football manager, Sloan’s day job is working as a forklift driver in Kilmarnock 

The impressive list of accolades gains an emotional resonance in light of the recent passing of Willie Knox at 88. Knox, who led the club for 16 years starting in 1977, secured five Scottish Junior Cups during his tenure.

To put these achievements in perspective, the clubs with most wins in the Scottish Junior Cup after Talbot are Cambuslang Rangers, Petershill, Parkhead and Burnbank, all with five each. Sloan, alone, has almost twice the victories of the second-ranked club.

In the cut-throat world of semi-professional football, he is routinely referred to as the best Junior manager ever. This is put to him on a drive home from training. ‘Oh dear,’ he says with a loud laugh. ‘I don’t know about that.’ He goes on to shrug off any notions of greatness.

He is more eager to talk about football. He is a 61-year-old forklift driver who carries the hopes and expectations of an entire community on his slim shoulders. So, how does he cope?

‘I suppose I have always done it, so that helps,’ he says. ‘I came here in 2003 and we had to win the last match to stay up. I played that day and we beat Maryhill 3-1. I suppose we kicked on from there.’ They ‘kicked on’ in the same manner as Shergar taking the Tattenham Corner in the Derby.

‘Managing is harder than playing. It was easier turning up with your boots. I moved into coaching and took the job here. I have stayed. What would it be it like if I didn’t do it? I don’t want to go shopping on Saturday, do I?’

It is a busy life. ‘You are home from work, have your tea and go back out. That does not bother me now, but will that always be the case?’

The satisfaction is evident in the way he talks about the gift of a Saturday at the fitba’. ‘We turned up at Dumbarton for a big game,’ he says of the third round Scottish Cup tie in November. ‘I love going to grounds where we don’t normally go. We had a great result. There is a lot of satisfaction in that. You don’t shout about it. But there is satisfaction.’

The 4-0 victory led to Talbot being pulled out the hat against Celtic. There were hopes that the game could be played at Beechwood Park but, after talks with local authorities and police, it was moved to Rugby Park.

‘It’s not what I wanted,’ he admits. ‘There are a few folk putting a negative spin on it, but not me. The decision has been made and we get on with it. We wanted to play on the tighter pitch against Celtic and that could have helped us, but let’s try to get on with it, let’s be competitive. We are playing Celtic so we should be looking forward to that.’

He will approach it in his own way. A genial, humble personality, he has a single-mindedness that has helped him forge his path at Beechwood. There were once tales of his hardline approach to players’ haircuts at Talbot, but he grins when this is brought up.

Tommy Sloan after one of his many successes, the 2013 Scottish Junior Cup

‘I have standards, yes. It’s an old-fashioned thing, I suppose. If somebody walked in with a fancy haircut there would have been comments. He would usually have been a No.10, or one of those made-up positions. I have a laugh about it now. When I first came in, it was certainly a thing, but not a serious thing. If you are a good player, then that’s all I am interested in.’

He plays 4-4-2. I interviewed him about a decade ago and he said he had changed to a back three twice. Any advance on that since? ’Aye, once. I did it against East Kilbride at Broadwood in a final a couple of years ago. We did all right, though we lost. But you need quick, mobile defenders for that role and there’s not many of them at this level.’

He is dismissive of many modern trends in football, particularly GPS tracker vests for players. ‘A firm came to us with them a few years ago,’ he says. ‘But I never felt we needed them. I think I can tell when a player is running enough. Or not.’

Sloan is obviously tough. He has survived, indeed prospered, in Junior football as a striker and manager. But he is not a shouter, at least not regularly. ‘If you do that all the time, people turn off. 

‘I am not a big, intimidating guy. I tend to say something if it needs to be said. Sometimes, I would rather say nothing, just leave it alone.’

The culture at Auchinleck is straightforward. The club represent the village. The committee run the business. The manager runs the team. And the supporters loudly proclaim their joy or dissatisfaction.

‘Remember, it has no’ always been great,’ he says. ‘They are not long in letting you know if you are not doing well. They don’t miss you when you are walking to the dressing room after a defeat.’

Sloan has been offered jobs higher up in football but has no regrets about staying put

He not only expects that, but respects it. It is what comes with the job as a big fish in shark-infested waters. He has been approached for jobs higher up the pyramid but has never moved. He usually cites ‘bad timing’ but there is a bond with the club that needs not be proclaimed loudly.

‘I have no regrets. This club has been good to me. We have a great way of working. People talk to me about budgets, but that’s not how we work here. I will go to Henry about a player I like and say: “This is the cost”. He tells me aye or no. They try to accommodate me, but there are times when they cannot. And that’s fine, that’s the way it is.’

His respect for his colleagues is forged in something more substantial than the gaudy glitter of cups won.

Asked about his greatest day as a manager, he references the 1-0 defeat of Ayr United in the Scottish Cup six years ago and his first Scottish Junior Cup final win against Bathgate in 2006 at, coincidentally, Rugby Park.

‘I cannot really pinpoint one day,’ he says. Then, unbidden, he talks about defeat.

‘I remember one moment here. Never forget it. We were favourites to beat Shotts (Scottish Junior Cup final of 2012) and we lost. Henry and the chairman (Morton Wright) came the next day to get me out the house to go for a beer. That’s the kind of folk they are. They knew I was lower than a snake’s belly.’

Tommy ‘Tucker’ Sloan rose again, of course. But he conforms to the truth about outliers in sport at any level. The memories of wins in the back garden against grandson Jack or finals against Junior royalty on senior grounds can fade. The medals lie untended. But the pain of losing persists.

It’s what makes him the best of leaders and the most dangerous of opponents.