He attended Farie Street Primary where as an 11-year-old he found his form as a midfielder and developed the style that would mark his career; making goals for others.
In the National service McLean was stationed in the small village of Lendl in the province of Carinthia, Austria.
The calibre of play was high so when he returned to Glasgow in 1955 he hadn't lost a step and was placed with Queen's Park Stroller 11.
He featured in the 1957 final of the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup (a minor trophy played between local clubs); the match at Ibrox was won 2–1 by Rangers.
[1][5] His time with the club coincided with some of its best-loved players, such as Hastie, Cromar and Hopper,[3] while in the latter part of his spell he shared teams with a young Alex Ferguson.