CRAIG Robertson is the latest in Cowdenbeath football history guru David Allan's targets.

Craig was born in the Dunfermline Maternity Hospital in April 1963. He was the son of a well-known Cowdenbeath couple – Mac and Margie Robertson - and the family lived up near the Cowdenbeath Picture House.

Craig loved football from almost as soon as he could walk and he was regularly down at Central Park supporting Cowden.

He was in the Beath High School side which won the Dunfermline and District Schools Cup final at East End Park in 1977. That Beath team also lost in the Fife Cup final. Craig was also capped by Scotland in boys club’s internationals.

Cowdenbeath would have therefore seemed a natural destination for him but Cowden was the only one of the Fife senior clubs where Craig would not find a home.

He signed for Hearts as a youngster but didn’t see any first team action and joined Raith Rovers in 1980. He started out in the right back berth but was also used as a sweeper by the Kirkcaldy outfit.

Over time though he became established as a midfielder with a knack for ghosting in and snatching goals. Forfar tried to sign him for £8,000 in 1985 but he stayed at Stark’s Park and blossomed under the leadership of Frank Connor. In 1987, he scored the only goal in a trial match at East End Park to select the squad for the international Semi-professional tournament to be played in Fife.

Craig was duly selected alongside the likes of Raymond Allan, John McVeigh, Rowan Alexander, John Sludden, John Watson and Norrie McCathie. The matches v England, Holland and Italy were played in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. Craig scored in the match v Italy.

Prior to this he had been a key member of the Rovers side which won promotion out of Division Two.

Craig though earned accelerated promotion to the Premier League as Jim Leishman, a long time admirer, at last managed to sign him for Dunfermline for a £25,000 fee. It didn’t take Craig all that long to adjust to the big time and he netted 13 goals in season 1987/88.

A further 5 goals followed early in 1988/89 and Aberdeen didn’t hesitate. A cheque for £175,000 took Craig to Pittodrie in December 1988.

Aberdeen though didn’t get the best out of him. He was often used as a substitute and rarely was allowed to operate in his favoured role – breaking forward from midfield. It was probably a relief when Dunfermline resigned him for a £100,000 fee in 1991. In his first season back, despite being relegated from the Premier League, the Pars reached the their first League Cup final in over forty years only to lose 2-0 to Hibernian.

Then, following the tragic death of Norrie McCathie, Craig was handed the Dunfermline captaincy, and led the team to the 1st Division championship.

Craig hung up his boots at the end of season 1997/1998 having made 321 first team appearances for Dunfermline. He was then manager at Kelty Hearts in 2001/02. His old Cowdenbeath pal, Jim Moffat was appointed as East Fife boss in 2002 and Craig Robertson joined him as Assistant Manager.

Just over a year later, in the club’s Centenary year, promotion back to Division Two was won with virtually the last kick of the ball in the last game of the season.

In 2004, Craig rejoined the Pars as a team coach and later also filled in as caretaker manager for a spell. Then in 2008, Willie Miller took him back to Aberdeen to be that club’s Chief Scout – he left when Derek McInnes was appointed in 2013.