Paul's clear on his football goals

He only turned 19 two days before the start of this league season, but Paul Gallacher has already experienced more than his fair share of football's ups and downs.
It's part of the territory with Queen's Park that each season is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, however the young centre half has taken that tradition to a new level.
He was released by two premier league clubs (Celtic and Hibs) before he was even old enough to drive a car. And amazingly, when you now look at the 6ft3, 12stone 6lb defender, he was told by both that he wasn't big enough for the rigours of top-flight football. He shrugged off that disappointment to relaunch his career in the amateur ranks with Mearns United. As his talents developed, he also "took quite a stretch" and landed a spot at Hampden with the 17s.
Despite his tender years, Paul managed to force his way into the Hampden XI squad that made its way to the first of our back-to-back Scottish Amateur Cup Finals. However, disappointment lay just around the corner as he wasn't selected for the Final - and had to watch on the sidelines as the team slumped to defeat against Eddlewood.
Naturally, the roller-coaster was soon heading back up and Paul was a big part of the Queen's team that reached the Centenary Amateur Cup Final and this time he joined the celebrations as the youngsters lifted the famous trophy at our even more famous Hampden home.
Paul then graduated to the Queen's senior squad and made his debut towards the end of last season when Ricky Little was unfortunately sent off against Forfar.
Gallacher produced such a polished performance that day, he remained in the team until the end of the season, experiencing the highs of the run to the play-offs ... and the low of the Hampden drubbing by Arbroath in the semi-final.
The defender has no doubt that his experience of the winter training camp in Portugal was crucial in allowing him to step up to first-team level.
Paul said: "The Da Vinci trip was brilliant. You were playing or training every day and there was also a lot of work done in the gym. "It gave you a taste of what life would be like as a full-time footballer. You also had to discipline yourself to getting up and ready for training every morning - nobody came to get you - it was up to yourself.
"The facilities were tremendous, and just being part of all that was a huge help to me - and all the other boys in the party. It was also good to spend some time in another country, rather than just being there on holiday.
"I don't think there's any doubt that the experience also helped with the team bonding and while we all felt individual benefits from the training camp, the 17s and 19s squads got better as the season went on - and some of that must be down to the lessons learned by the players in Portugal."
It's not hard to find the evidence to back up Paul's sentiments about the benefits of Da Vinci for the club. It's always the case that young players step up from the youth level to the Queen's Park first team, but the class of 2010 has more graduates than most other seasons with Gallacher, Nadeem, Lachlan, O'Hara, Baillie and McPherson all part of the senior squad.
On an individual level, Paul reckons the Da Vinci experience was vital as he got his first-team break ... and again there was an "element" of good fortune.
While the weather in Portugal was a bit disappointing, it was a million times better than the Arctic conditions we experienced back home. When Paul returned, he had been playing or training every day, often twice a day, and was raring to go. Postponements in Scotland meant he was at least on a par as far as match fitness was concerned with his senior squad colleagues, and so was better equipped to handle the step-up.
Since coming into the squad, Paul has formed a solid partnership at the heart of the defence with James Brough. Ever-present since his debut, the youngster is pleased at the way things are going, but admits one thing at least is lacking ... a goal.
And with the Forfar cup tie looming large, he reckons the Station Park side would be the ideal opponents for him to break his duck. He explained: "I missed an absolute sitter in my first game at Forfar, and then had one chalked up at the same ground. I couldn't believe that one as I saw the ball was well over the line and turned away to celebrate. It was a real sickener when I realised that the referee wasn't giving it.
"It's fair to say that I reckon I'm owed something against Forfar and if I'm part of the team, it would be great to score against them on Tuesday night - especially at Hampden."
One of the attributes that has caught the eye during Paul's development has been his confidence while in possession - justifying his tag as a "ball-playing" centre-half. The youngster puts that down in part to the superb playing surface which Queen's Park normally enjoy.
He added: "Playing all your home games at Hampden is just great. It gives you such confidence to pass the ball when you know the surface is good. I've also been lucky in that clubs like Celtic and Hibs encourage their youngsters to get the ball down and try to pass it. And that's certainly the Queen's Park philosophy"
While it's an admirable quality, Paul acknowledges that our team's attempts to play the ball out of defence can give the supporters more than an odd scare. He joked: "Yeah, I suppose there are times when row Z would be a better option, but that's something that will come with experience."
Looking to the future, Paul has fairly clear targets in mind. Off the field, he aims to graduate from his five-year Chemical Engineering course at Strathclyde University, although that seems some way off as he's just successfully completed year one.
On the field, the goals are fairly straight-forward: "I want to keep my place in the team, keep improving as a player - and score my first goal.
"As far as the team is concerned, promotion has got to be a realistic target. We're sure we are good enough to get out of this league, and we're determined to give it our best shot."
Nobody at Hampden would argue with those sentiments, and we all look forward to seeing Paul and the rest of the Da Vinci graduates play their part in the club's success.