Neill Collins enjoyed a stellar career that included three promotions to the English Premiership, a promotion to the Championship with Leeds United and provided him with the opportunity to line up alongside Joe Cole for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
However the defender, who is now head coach at the Rowdies, will always be grateful to Queen’s Park for responding to his letter - and handing him a footballing lifeline.
Collins played 35 games for the Spiders after making his debut as 17-year old in 2001 before moving on to Dumbarton and then Sunderland.
And, despite John McCormack’s men struggling at the wrong end of the SFL, it’s a time he remembers fondly. Neill told Lanarkshire Live Sport: “It was a tough introduction.
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