TWO of the top after dinner speakers in the country provided a thoroughly entertaining evening of stories and anecdotes from their footballing careers at the Largs Thistle Sportsmen's Dinner held at the Willowbank Hotel.

Former Hibs striker Tam McManus and ex grade one referee John Rowbotham lit up proceedings as they left the audience in stitches at the event which was compered by Drew Cochrane and included a successful fundraising auction, raffle and Irish bingo events.

And Drew told the audience that it was an exciting season for Thistle, who are currently sitting in third spot in the West of Scotland Premier League and have ambitions of silverware. He revealed that the gentlemen's dinner was a crucial cog in the wheel for fundraising for some exciting developments coming to Barrfields in the near future including floodlights.

McManus started his career with Hibernian, making more than 100 league appearances for the Edinburgh club, and featured for the Scotland national under-21 football team.

After leaving Hibs in January 2005, McManus enjoyed two spells in both the US and the Republic of Ireland. His recollections of facing legendary ex Celtic defender Bobo Balde were among the highlights.

McManus is now a regular live match reporter on BBC Radio Scotland's football coverage of Scottish football on Sportsound: Open All Mics, and speaks on the daily Glasgow internet football programme, PLZ Soccer.

Ex ref Rowbotham officiated at the highest level as a FIFA referee, in games that included World Cup qualifiers, Premier League matches, SPL fixtures and the 2005 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Dundee United.

The Sportsmen's Dinner event is a long standing event in the Largs Thistle fundraising calendar and raised hundreds of pounds for the Barrfields club through an auction of a number of prize items.

Among them were a signed Scotland shirt from the summer friendly in the Netherlands, a signed Hearts top, signed Largs Thistle shirts, four ball golfing opportunities at famous Scottish courses, and a voucher for the Haylie Hotel.