THEY are renowned for their cup exploits, have more than 600 players on their books, and even employ a former Arsenal coach.
But now Spartans FC are putting team tactics in the hands of a group of school pupils in a bid to sharpen up their game.
Teenagers at the Royal High School will be advising the club on formations, techniques and positioning using the same compute
r technology used by some of the country's top teams.
The S5 pupils are taking part in a pilot which, if successful, could be extended to schools across Scotland.
It will see the youngsters filming the East of Scotland league side's home games and scrutinising footage to see where the players performed well or where they went wrong. They will then use specialist computer software to produce data on everything from how many times they defended to how well individual players performed, which they will then present to the club.
The initiative is part of Determined to Succeed, which develops enterprise in education, and is being funded by the city council and the producers of the coaching software, Elite Sports Analysis.
The project is designed to help youngsters develop a range of skills they can take into the workplace, including meeting deadlines, teamwork and taking responsibility.
Craig Downie, a PE teacher at the Royal High who is leading the pilot scheme, said: "Employers are saying more and more that kids aren't coming to them with the skills needed after leaving education. I hope this will improve their presentation and communication skills and give them a sense of responsibility. They will be using cutting-edge technology which all the major teams have.
"(Ex Scotland manager] Craig Brown is supporting the project because it's a new avenue for sport in the future and the hope is that something like this could become a standalone subject.
"He has already given us pen and paper exercises which he used in the Scotland squad."
Spartans FC has five adult teams and 500 youth players, but the Royal High pupils will be focusing on the first team.
Club chairman Craig Graham said: "It will be really helpful to the players to see where things aren't working quite as well as they might be and things that are working well. For example, last Saturday we were 2-1 up and managed to lose 5-2 so it would be good to get an analysis of all the things we did wrong there.
"The beauty of it is that we can analyse individual players or look at team formations and tactics. This will be a fantastic help when we're planning how we will play as a team. The players are really looking forward to it – but there will be no more disputing what happened on the pitch because it will be there right in front of us."
Pupils will work alongside former Arsenal ladies coach Mike Irving, who used the software when he was with the club.
The initiative is officially launched today.
