Clydebank manager Gordon Moffat has paid tribute to club legend Andy Paterson who is set to leave the Bankies.

The left-back joined Clydebank in 2011 and has gone on to make 246 appearances in that time, scoring eight goals and being part of a squad that won trophies and secured promotion.

Moff played alongside Paterson in his time at the club as a player between 2010 and 2013, and was keen to see the 38-year-old stay at Holm Park – but believes the class of the defender meant that he knew when the time was right to say a difficult goodbye.

Speaking to the Post, the Bankies boss said: “I had left the decision down to Andy – he had been a teammate of mine at the club, which shows you how long he’s been there.

“When I first came in, I had made a few signings, and we had a chat and he said he could kind of see where it was going and was feeling like he maybe couldn’t do the level any more.

“I talked him round at that time and told him to keep going and that he was vital to the squad.

“About 18 months ago I said to him to tell me when he wants to leave, as I didn’t want to be the guy that finished his Clydebank career.

“He’s honest enough to know when he can’t do it and that’s the way we left it.

“He came to me a few months ago and said in the seven or eight games we played last season, and watching games and watching training, it was getting beyond him to get to that level.

“He’s that honest and modest a guy, he was saying that he didn’t want to let us down.

“I said I’d be happy just to have him in the squad for experience, but he just felt he couldn’t hit the heights he has over the years and didn’t want to be that guy who was letting the team down, so I reluctantly accepted that.”

It’s not the end of Paterson’s involvement at the club, however, as he is set to join the coaching staff at Clydebank’s youth academy and help nurture the next generation of talent coming through the ranks at Holm Park.

Moff added: “I think he’s keen to keep playing football, so he might play amateur or over 35s, but he just felt this level was beyond him.

“We’re lucky enough he’s going to do his early badges with us and be involved in the academy, so it’s ended up quite good.”

Meanwhile, Clydebank were handed a bye in the first round of the South of Scotland Challenge Cup when the draw for the early stages of the tournament was made on Friday.

Bankies will be away to WoSFL new boys Harmony Row, the club where Sir Alex Ferguson learned the game in his early days, on October 16, with the tie to be played at Benburn FC’s New Tinto Park in Govan.