Depending on one’s outlook, Friday evening in the unlikely surroundings of Ochilview Park could either see a Scottish football fairytale come to life or the latest temporary vindication of the boom-or-bust culture that has scarred the game in the past. Queen’s Park, who were amateurs for more than a century and proud of it, will earn a place in the top flight as a professional team if they defeat Dundee. But for an Arsenal-esque stumble – Queen’s have won one of their past six games – promotion would already have been secured.
Sixty-five years have passed since Queen’s, formed in 1867 and Scotland’s oldest league club, played top-division football. In those more simple times of 1957-58, Hearts secured the title at a canter from the Old Firm as the Spiders won four matches out of 34. In the intervening decades Queen’s have generally floated around the nether regions of Scotland’s league structure. They were a cuddly club, untouched by the corporate classes.
