From a footballing family, Steven’s dad, David, played for Raith Rovers and is well known for scoring a hat-trick of headers in one game. “I’ll be lucky to score three headers in my life,” joked Steven.
“My dad always come and watches me and is the biggest influence on my career.”
After living the first couple of years of his life in Edinburgh, Steven’s family moved to Dundee. His two brothers also play football, John for junior side Shotts and Peter for his university team. “John could have gone senior but works for a company doing cinema advertising, said Steven.”
After a few years in Dundee the family were on the move again, this time to Stirling. “My dad was a chartered accountant and we went where his job took us,” explained Steven.
Normally the Cubs are not known for producing top class footballers, but Steven’s first taste of competitive football came when turning out for his local Cubs in Stirling. An all-round sportsman, Steven also liked running, swimming and table-tennis.
After stepping up from the Cubs, Steven played for local team Carse Thistle, which also produced another well-known footballer – Everton’s Duncan Ferguson.
“I know Duncan from my time at Rangers, although I didn’t know him from Carse Thistle.”
Steven signed schoolboy forms for Rangers when he was 14 and was at Ibrox for seven years. “It was brilliant, you don’t appreciate it at the time because you’re just a kid, but it was an experience you never want to lose.”
Steven turned out for Scotland schoolboys at under 15 and under 16 levels and was at Ibrox when there was a host of big names in the side: “McCoist, Gascoigne, Durrant, Hately and Laudrup were all there,” said Steven, who made his Rangers debut in the game against Hibs noted for Brian Laudrup’s two penalty misses.
Unfortunately for Steven, he broke his leg just a week after making his Rangers debut and that game turned out to be his only full apearance for the first team. “After that, I missed the next 10 months of the season and Rangers were signing so many players for my position that I moved on to Dundee.”
One regret Steven does have from his earlier days is that he didn’t stick in a bit more with his studies. “It’s definitely advice I would give to the younger players, especially with the way the game is nowadays.”
Steven enjoyed his spell at Dundee, but was a victim of the Bonnetti brothers when they took over the footballing side of the club. “Going to Dundee was probably the best thing I ever did,” added Steven.
“Jocky Scott took me there and my best spell of games were played under him. But things went sour when the Bonnetti brothers came in. It was bizarre and left a bad taste in the mouth. It’s a shame to see the state they’re in now with the debt and all that sort of stuff, a lot of which was obviously caused by what went on up there, But these things happen.”
Steven then moved to Hearts as Craig Levein’s first signing and also enjoyed his three-and-a-half years at the Tynecastle club.
S
teven didn’t know he was leaving Hearts until the end of last season, a victim of the bank’s cutbacks. “It did look like I was going to be offered some sort of deal but you’ve got to accept that’s reality and it’s football.
“There was some interest down south, but I have no real aspirations to move to England. When Alan Preston phoned me up, I was impressed by what he had to say. I like Livingston as a club and I used to like coming here and playing; it’s a nice stadium, a nice pitch and seems like a well-run family club.
“It’s too early to say if we’re going in the right direction. I’d have liked a few more points on the board, but I don’t think we’re a million miles away. The first game was great and we were top of the league after that. Ibrox was disappointing as at no point did we ever look as if we were going to take anything from the game. The Dundee United game was a wee bit up and down and the Aberdeen game was also disappointing.
“However, we are capable of doing better and, since the Aberdeen game, we’ve been working at training on things we didn’t do well in the game. Hopefully you’ll see an improved Livingston side against Kilmarnock.”
Steven played with Roddy McKenzie at Hearts, but says there’s a good spirit amongst the Livingston squad and reckons that it’s not a problem getting to know each other. “We’ve all played with against each other at some point and the Portugal trip was great for team spirit.”
Steven says everyone at Livingston is looking for a top six place this season. And that means beating teams like today’s opponents, Kilmarnock. “If our aspirations are top six, we need to win at home against teams like that,” said Steven, “so hopefully we’ll pick up three points. It’s going to be tight, however. If you’re being brutally honest, on any given day a lot of the teams could beat each other and the very next day they could be beaten by the same team. Get a few wins in this league and you can shoot right up the league.”
When he’s not playing football, Steven likes to spend time with his girlfriend and four-year-old son Steven
He also admits that he’s now starting to think about his future after life as a footballer.
But it seems Steven may have his life mapped out. “I like the media thing,” he added. “I have done some TV stuff. I don’t find it a problem and I enjoy it.”
When and where were you born?
Edinburgh 4/9/1976
Romantic status (ie married, single, available, unavailable)
Girlfriend Miranda
What’s your favourite record?
Waterfall by Stone Roses
Who would you want to play you in a film?
Jude Law
What do you like most about West Lothian?
The football club
What do you like least about West Lothian?
The rain
If you could be someone else, who would it be?
David Beckham – whatever’s thrown at him he seems to deal with
What do you like most about yourself?
I am easy-going and friendly
What do you like least about yourself?
Sometimes I am too easy going
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I was once used as a body double for Paul Gascoigne When he got himself in a bit of bother at Rangers, I was smuggled into Ibrox as his body double. About 20 press people followed us from Glasgow Airport to Ibrox and when I got out of the car they weren’t very pleased. When we got off the plane, he went one way and I went the other way
This interview first appeared in the Livingston FC Matchday magazine, priced £2.50 at every home match. 