Ivo den Bieman sports a wry smile as he hears the ‘L-word’.
“I would never say legend,” he tells Courier Sport. “At home, I’m not a legend. With my brothers and sisters, I’m not a legend. I just had the sheer luck of being part of that fantastic Dunfermline team.”
Those in attendance at the Carnegie Conference Centre on Sunday will vehemently beg to differ.
A sell-out crowd of 260 will herald the stars of an unforgettable 1995/96 campaign — a season of heartbreak and heroism.
The management team of Bert Paton and Dick Campbell will take to the stage for the ‘Paton’s Premier Pars’ event, with the vast majority of that famous side reuniting after 26 long years.
“It will be overwhelming,” continued Den Bieman, who is travelling from the Netherlands to attend. “To see such an incredible turnout from the staff and players is going to be immense.
“The only shame is that there were not 5,000 tickets available — because it seems like we could have sold them.”
Big Time Charlies
Indeed, that speaks to the reverence with which this squad is held.
Quite apart from the successes they enjoyed, the camaraderie and swash-buckling style of football employed by Paton and Campbell lives long in the memory.
“Most supporters want to see a good game — of course — but they also want to see the players fight for the jerseys,” adds Den Bieman.
“If you do that and go down battling, then Dunfermline fans will cheer you off the pitch.
“Bert and Dick instilled that in us.
“There were no passengers. I came from one year at Dundee. Stewart Petrie came in from Forfar. Andy Tod came from non-league, Derek Fleming from Meadowbank Thistle and Marc Millar from Brechin.
“These were players coming from lower levels with an appetite to make it as full-time players.
“There were no big-time Charlies. If you tried to get that way, you would be knocked down. Ian Westwater, Norrie (McCathie), Craig Robertson, Paul Smith would all call you out.”
Tragic loss of McCathie
However, McCathie’s influence would cease in the most unimaginably tragic circumstances when Dunfermline’s iconic No.4 passed away on January 8 1996.
“We got through it by being professionals and being together,” recalls den Bieman. “You set aside the feelings and hurt from losing somebody.
“Like with any other bereavement or terrible situation, you need to find a way to deal with it.
“Football, and coming together as a team, was an escape.”
So when did he start to process everything that occurred during that season?
“I can remember feeling very numb after the game, given everything that happened,” says den Bieman, recalling the moments after Dunfermline won the title with a 2-1 win against Airdrie in May 1996.
“We had all the pressures and hurt of the loss (of McCathie). I just felt empty, like that the whole season had raced by in two minutes.
“I had been out for 10 weeks, the longest time in my career, with a back injury, not long after Norrie passed away.
“All the energy was drained out of me.
“We were all youngsters. We were never told how to deal with this stuff; any of it. Nowadays you would have counsellors to help process things. We just dealt with it ourselves, as staff and players.”
That is not to say he did not enjoy the celebrations.
In front of 13,000 delirious Pars supporters, den Bieman soaked up every moment.
‘Bottlers’
After all, some waypoints had been marked along the way to that title, most notably the 1-0 win at Dundee United which, in the eyes of many, was a title decider.
“I remember a story in the newspaper where all the managers in the league tipped United to win,” recalled the former Montrose favourite.
“Dick and Bert used that very conveniently for motivation! If the stakes needed raised any further, then maybe that was the final piece of the jigsaw.
“The trophy was already at Tannadice. The SFA were there to present the trophy to United!
“But there was a game to play. And it turned out differently.”
As many predicted, the winner of that game did go on to lift the trophy.
“We felt like it had been us against the rest of Scotland,” he added.
“We were being called bottlers — I read that in the press — after losing out to Falkirk and Raith Rovers in the previous seasons.
“Winning that league was the pinnacle of my career, especially with what happened that season and what it meant to the town.”
