CRAIGMARLOCH School is a conveyor belt of football talent thanks to devoted coach David Byrne.

The long-serving learning support assistant gives up his own time to give pupils the chance to play.

His latest success story was Greenock teen Andre Roe who recently won bronze at the Special Olympics.

It was David who first spotted his potential and now others hope to follow in his footsteps.

Pupils Liam Duffy, 14, and Lewis Crichton, 17, are part of the team and also play for Greenock United.

Liam said: “I love playing football and I hope that I can go on to play like Andre.”

The school team train once a week after classes and take part in a league at Toryglen during the day.

Lewis added: “We like training with David. We start with a warm up and then play a game.”

Some of the older boys also have the chance to play for Greenock United, which runs a team for teenagers and adults with learning disabilities and recently won a league title.

Over the years David has helped other boys pursue their dreams in the game.

He travelled down to Sheffield to watch Andre play and cheer him on as he scored four goals.

He said: “I was very proud when they put Andre through to the Special Olympics. He played really well.

“The boys at Craigmarloch love playing football. It helps every aspect of their learning, their fitness, working as a team. I have taken the team for years.”