St Mirren legend Tony Fitzpatrick reunites with one of the kids he used to coach… singing star Paolo Nutini

SCOTS singer Paolo Nutini was reunited with his former football coach – and asked him where he could buy a copy of his new autobiography.

The Paisley born star bumped into St Mirren legend Tony Fitzpatrick in one of the town’s coffee shops.

The New Shoes singer revealed his dad Alfredo had told him all about Tony’s book, Fitzy – The Story of My Life – being published.

When Paolo told Tony he was looking forward to reading it, Tony fetched a copy of the autobiography from his car, signed it and handed a complimentary copy over to the singer.

When Tony was an SFA community coach in Paisley during the mid-1990s, Paolo would come to his Saturday morning football sessions in the St Mirren FC leisure complex at the club’s former ground at Love Street.

The pair have kept in touch over the years and Tony has looked on with pride as Paolo became a massive worldwide music star.

Tony says: “It was great bumping into Paolo like that and having a chat with him. I’ve known him since he was a young boy when he was about eight or nine years old.

“I remember him coming along to my coaching sessions all those years ago and like many young boys, he wanted to be a professional footballer when he grew up. As things turned out football’s loss was the music world’s gain and I’m sure his millions of fans would agree with that.

“He was a normal wee boy, very enthusiastic and loved playing football.

“I hope Paolo enjoys reading my life story and maybe one day he’ll get round to writing his autobiography and I’ll get him to sign a copy of his book for me!”

Now St Mirren’s chief executive, Tony also had two spells as the club’s manager and won a league title and Scottish Cup with the Buddies as a player.

His autobiography is packed with hilarious tales from the dressing room and behind-the-scenes boardroom battles.

He talks about the amazing relationship he had with his football mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, who made the teenage Fitzy the St Mirren team captain.

But not before Tony’s dad had to phone Fergie pretending to be the family doctor assuring him the young footballer was fit enough to play after suffering pleurisy.

Behind the football banter and bust-ups, there’s an incredible story of being brought up in one of the poorest and most violent areas of Glasgow and how he used his football skills to escape that life.

Fitzy – The Story of My Life is published by Macdonald Media Publishing and is available from www.fitzybook.co.uk for only £11.99.