Return of The Mac

The news that Davie Mackinnon was to be appointed as the new club General Manager was welcomed by Killie fans last week, especially those old enough to remember his stint as a player. Davie was the type of player that fans really appreciate because he always gave 100% and if he brings the same drive and enthusiasm to his new role then the club will surely reap the benefits. Here is an excerpt of an interview with the man in question…

How did the move to Killie come about?
I was at Airdrie when Jimmy Bone became manager. Despite being captain and 'Player Of The Year', Jimmy obviously didn't fancy me and he agreed to let me go on loan to Kilmarnock. Jim Fleeting had been a coach at Airdrie. I had great

respect for his abilities and had no doubts about going. That great character Robert Reilly had also been at Airdrie. He told me he had arranged things and wanted a cut. My loan spell was quite successful and I enjoyed using my experience to help along some of the younger players. I was delighted when Jim Fleeting agreed to pay Airdrie the £15,000 they wanted. At the time I thought that at least Dick Turpin had worn a mask as I had already more than repaid Airdrie's original investment as I signed for them on a free transfer.

Did you consider it a step up or down at the time?
Definitely a step up. When I walked through the doors for the first time I had the same feeling as when I walked through the doors of Highbury and Ibrox. Kilmarnock had and still has people who make you very welcome and I felt at home straight away. I knew the club would regain it's place at the top; it was just a matter of time. I did realise though that if promotion was not achieved at the first time of asking, the club could have been in the Second Division for a few years. I can't remember the exact league position at the time, but after being relegated they'd not had the best of starts. Being the 'giants' of the division meant that everyone's cup final was against Kilmarnock, but whilst the opposition would raise their game, they also had a quiet respect, which sometimes worked to our advantage. That 'novelty' value would soon have worn off if Killie had to play another season in the division.

What are your memories of the dreaded Second Division?
Strangely enough I don't remember the games that we won, but the stupid ones we lost. With all due respect to sides like Stranraer and Cowdenbeath, whilst Killie had no divine right to win, we should never have dropped points in these games. I have a very vivid memory of a certain trip to Methil, which was a nightmare from start to finish. The journey with four of the players in my car through blizzards, continually listening on the radio for the call-off which never came; taking the field with eleven players and no subs; the extreme cold and the amazing sight of Tommy Burns becoming a 'blue-nose ' for the day. To make matters worse, after taking dogs abuse from the Methil fans about being a big poof, I looked to the terracing to see one East Fife supporter wearing only a short sleeved strip. I had to admit they had a point then!

Was there a feeling in the squad that everything was going to turn out well?
We always believed in ourselves without being overly confident. After the turn of the year things started to fit together, but we knew it was always going to be a tight run-in. I had been in pressurised situations before, but whilst I tried to hide it from the younger players, I knew how important promotion was to the club and that led to one or two sleepless nights prior to matches.

What did you think of Tommy Burns?
Tommy coming to Kilmarnock was massive for the club. I had played against Tommy on many occasions and was always impressed by him. I know he'd had offers to stay in the Premier League, but like me he realised that a move to Kilmarnock would yield dividends in the long run, and also like me, he was such a moan while on the pitch. We both wanted to win so much that we had heated words with each other in almost every match about his reluctance to track back. Once the final whistle went, we were the best of friends again. I have a tremendous respect for Tommy, both as a person and in a footballing sense, and, whilst his rendition of 'Mac The Knife' does not come up to the standards of my 'Ruby,' he's still quite a good chanter.

Any other outstanding players at the time?
Everyone in the team had their own skills to contribute; Ray Montgomerie's honesty and commitment; Paul Flexney's aerial ability; Tommy Tait's drive; John Sludden and Willie Watters goal poaching abilities, and Robert Reilly's enthusiasm. Robert is one of the funniest guys I've ever had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with, and he was a key figure in ensuring moral was kept at the highest standard.

Tell us about that game against Cowdenbeath?
My family and friends had supported me tremendously throughout the season and we decided we should mark the importance of the game by booking into a Kilmarnock hotel on the morning of the game. As a group, we walked the short distance to the ground to savour the building atmosphere the supporters were providing. The game was not the best of spectacles; the early goal should have settled us, but after missing some easy chances, we seemed to just sit back and hope that Cowdenbeath would allow the game to peter out without putting up much of a fight. When they scored I thought we were about to blow it, but then came the penalty! Willie Watters had missed one just after the turn of the year and it was Jim McSherry who nominated me to take the next one. The next one never came, and for weeks I had a recurring dream that we would get one in the final game and that promotion would depend upon it. I had only taken about four in my career, mainly in penalty shootouts and luckily I had never missed one. This was different though and as I walked the long distance to place the ball on the spot, the importance of the kick dominated. I took a long walk back, and focused on getting my head over the ball and blasting it as hard as I could. This wasn't a time to place it and I reckoned that if I didn't have a clue which part of the goal the ball would hit, Willie Lamont, in the Cowdenbeath goal wouldn't either. The elation when the ball missed Willie's head by a couple of inches and crashed into the back of the net was unbelievable. In all honesty, it is the best feeling of my football career. The post match celebrations were fantastic. After we eventually left Rugby Park, we had a meal and visited one or two local hostelries where the fans were tremendous. We met up with Robert Reilly and being the shy, retiring figure that he is, he persuaded me to go to a disco with him. Once there, he promptly commandeered the microphone from the DJ and announced that the Kilmarnock captain would sing 'Paper Roses' to them!

What about leaving Killie?
The season following promotion, I developed a groin problem, which prevented me from training and only allowed me to play after taking painkillers. Around March, the pain became too much and Jim Fleeting left me out. In retrospect, I should have had an operation, but at the time it was decided that the best cure was rest. At the end of the season, Jim said that because I hadn't been playing, he wouldn't be renewing my contract. It was a bitter blow as I felt that if I had got my injury sorted out, then I had at least two good years to offer. It wasn't to be and I left, in all honesty on a bit of a downer. I considered my career to be over, but kept involved by training an amateur team. After a couple of months, my groin injury seemed to be cured and I signed a 1-year deal to play at Forfar under Paul Hegarty. I had a good season with them, was voted 'Player Of The Year' and despite relegation I felt my decision to return was justified. I also had an operation on my groin during which it was discovered that I had two major tears. If only I'd had the operation whilst at Kilmarnock!

Sum up your time at Killie.
Undoubtedly it was one of the best experiences of my football career. Apart from the penalty, I scored what I consider to be the goal of my career against Queen of the South at Rugby Park. The ball came to me halfway inside our own half. I saw the Queen's defence pushing out towards the halfway line and decided to lob the ball forward and chase it beyond the outrunning defenders. I don't consider myself the best at one on one situations, so I shot from around 25 yards and the ball sailed into the net. (If the passing of time has embellished my recollection please advise!) Overall I met some wonderful people at Killie and enjoyed the warmth of the Kilmarnock support. My only regrets are that Killie were not interested in me when I left Rangers and of being let go under the circumstances surrounding my injury.
Were you at the Killie - Falkirk cup final? I was, and it was a tremendous day for all concerned. I was delighted for Ray Montgomerie in particular. It was a fitting tribute for one of the nicest guys in football. My magic memory was meeting Malky McCormick in the Ibrox car park. He was wearing the blue and white toweling suit from the toilet of his local in Fenwick and was in great form.

How would you describe yourself as a player?
Definitely underestimated. When you are labeled as 'workman like' early on in your career, it's hard to get people to see past the media's image of you.

More Old Boys

In these financially troubled times clubs are releasing more players than ever before and footballers are having to take a reality check when it comes to signing contracts. Many players that were released in May are still without clubs and there may be a mad rush in the coming weeks when players face the choice of accepting a reduced contract or "signing-on".

Ex-Killie star Andy McLaren is a shining example after knocking back a new deal at the Theatre of Pies to search for more cash elsewhere. He is currently training with old gaffer Bobby Williamson at Easter Road but Hibs are cash strapped and it looks like they will need to offload some of the current squad before they can entice some new faces. Another ex-Killie star in a similar position is Jim Lauchlan who famously left Killie to "win trophies" at Dundee Utd. Predictably the trophies never arrived, United have released him and at the time of writing the defender has not yet found a new club.

One familiar face we will be seeing this season is Gordon Marshall who was quickly snapped up by Terry Butcher at Motherwell after leaving Killie - I'm sure the big man will get a warm welcome from the Killie fans for his excellent service to us. One club with a strong ex-Killie contingent is first division Queen of the South who fielded four former Killie players in a weekend friendly. They have recently signed Alex Burke and Emilio Jaconelli and have taken Mark Canning on a six month loan deal (allegedly). They also used Cup Final hero David Bagan as a trialist so don't be surprised if "Paper Roses" is soon being blasted from the Palmerston tannoy!!

Season Ticket Update

As you've read elsewhere Davie Mackinnon has been appointed as our new General Manager so it goes without saying that B&H would like to offer Davie our very best wishes. The former Killie stalwart wont start until July 21st and with David Heath being away on holiday the ever helpful Angela Burnett has been helping us out with the season ticket latest.

We've organised the content, design and printing of the "season ticket leaflet" so you can expect one to pop through your letterbox in the next 2-3 weeks. A total of 80,000 leaflets are being printed and we'll be covering a huge number of households throughout Ayrshire.

There should be a surge in ticket sales from now until the start of the season so get paired-up as soon as possible and get over to the wee bungalow. The share centre is still here to help so if you're looking for a current season ticket holder to "pair-up" with give us a call on 0774 771 8754.

Read the B&H column in the Kilmarnock Standard every week