Long-serving Glasgow police officer Andy Murdoch has revealed how playing in goal for Partick Thistle helped set him up for a life with the force.

The former footballer quit the game at the age of just 27 to pursue his career with the police, and recently retired on his 54th birthday.

And he believes sharing a dressing room and working under John Lambie helped prepare him for his second career.

Murdoch told 1919 Magazine: "They’re already fit and committed, so that’s a massive part taken care of, but there are so many similarities between the two environments.

“It’s the team mentality – a team is only as good as its component parts and everyone wants to do as well as possible. That’s just as much the case before a big game as it is before a big job with your shift.

“I’ve looked around both and seen the look in the eyes of officers and players – it’s the same. Even when it’s going wrong, you look round about you and trust the people you are in there with."

Legendary Thistle boss Lambie was known for his old-school style and colourful language, with one famous story going that when striker Colin McGlashan was knocked out and couldn't remember who he was, the gaffer responded, "Great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on."

Glasgow Times:

The pair fell out over the manner of his departure from Firhill, but Murdoch has some stories to tell about the man he calls 'some character'.

He recalled: "When I said I wanted to join the police he told me I was a better zoo-keeper than goalkeeper.

“There was one game I made a mistake and in the dressing room he threw a cup of tea at the back of my head. Before I could respond he yelled: ‘You couldn’t catch that either’.”

Murdoch eventually rose to become Superintendent at Govan Police Station and he looks back on that as a highlight of both careers.

He said: "That was the most emotional one for me.

“My wife Jacqueline was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 and it was a terrible time.

“My head was complete mince, I didn’t know what to do, my mind was just full of broken glass.

“The support I got from the Scottish Police Federation at that time was unbelievable.

“But even though she was going through all that, losing her hair and everything, she was right behind me in going for this promotion.

“We were on holiday in Lloret de Mar, and when we got back from a day out there was a message for me at reception to say the promotion had been approved along with a bottle of champagne.

“But that promotion – it was as much my wife that got that as me. That’s what you need in the police, the support of your family, it makes all the difference.

“That’s a moment I will never forget.”