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Barry McLaughlin joined St.Mirren in
1991 from St.Mirren Boys Club. He made his top team
debut at Douglas Park, Hamilton on the 5th August 1992. His first goal for the club came in
December 1993 against Dunfermline. 1993 also saw Barry line up for Saints at Fir
Park in the B+Q Cup Final. Unfortunately this was not a happy experience as
Falkirk won 3-0. Originally a striker, it was manager
Jimmy Bone, who some defensive potential in young Barry and moved him to central
defence. Trigger as he was to become known, soon established himself at the
heart of the St.Mirren defence and was a firm favourite with the fans for his
battling displays. A Saints fan since childhood, Barry
never gave anything less than 100% for the club and, despite playing in an era
of freedom of movement; he remained loyal to Saints for ten seasons when
‘lesser’ players moved on to ‘bigger’ clubs. Highlight of his Love Street career is
undoubtedly playing his part in the Championship season of 1999-2000. Barry
scored the third goal in the match against Raith Rovers on the 29th April 2000
which clinched the title and his celebrations that day showed his depth of
feeling for the club. With Saints in the SPL, Barry was one of
the few highlights in a season where they failed to adapt to the higher level. Relegation back to the first division
brought change to St.Mirren and McLaughlin was appointed captain. He began to
lead by example with a stunning 20 yard volley in the opening 3-3 draw with
Partick Thistle, but Saints did not maintain the form and were soon at the wrong
end of the table. Throughout the campaign Trigger was again one of the few
positives and it was becoming evident that SPL clubs were keeping a close eye on
his progress. His final headline in the stripes was
scoring two goals against Arbroath at Gayfield in a match that virtually secured
Saints First Division status. His final match was against Falkirk at
Love Street in the final match of the 2001-02 season. During the close season Kilmarnock lured
Barry to Rugby Park, ending a ten year career at Love Street. In total Barry played in 296 matches for
St.Mirren and scored 13 times. | ||||||||||||
