No one could be more deserving of a testimonial than Paul McKenzie – according to his boss of 12 years Darren Henderson.
Gaffer Hendo signed ‘Taz’ way back then for Glenafton Athletic, and ensured he was one of the first signings he brought to Hurlford United in 2013.
Henderson admits he’s unlikely to ever sign someone that will have the impact that McKenzie has had again, and reckons it’s only fitting he’s being honoured with a Hurlford testimonial this weekend.
A current ‘Ford XI will take on the majority of their 2013/14 Junior Cup winning side at 2pm on Saturday at Blair Park, with all welcome to the event – with Kilmarnock away from home, no Ayr United, Celtic or Rangers games, it’s the perfect day to pay tribute to a local football hero.
And ‘Ford boss Henderson reflected: “He will be buzzing, but it’s something he thoroughly deserves.
“I started working with Taz 12 years ago when I was Glenafton boss, and even after one training session I knew he was the right type.
“He trains the way he plays, no one wants to play against him at training, he’s a wee terrier!
“He is all action, he has done remarkably well for me over the years, I’d be lucky to ever make a better signing.
“In my two years with him at Glenafton we won the league and the West Cup, he was instrumental in what we did there.
“When I got the Hurlford job one of the stipulations was that I could bring a few players, and Taz was one of them.
“He’s a great wee guy, a fantastic player, he has scored a lot of important goals for me, including one in the Junior Cup final win.
“He is a great boy off the pitch too, he is everyone’s mate. He’s not just my player, he is a good friend as well.
“He does a lot of good stuff as captain, he will stop things before they get to me in the dressing room and things like that.”
Henderson continued: “I’ve never had one single issue with him, some players you have things over the years, but nothing with him and that sums him up.
“He’ll be the first to tell you he has had the odd bad game, and he will hold his hands up straight away.
“But one thing you can never question is his desire, application, any word you can think of.
“He’s the type of boy that it doesn’t matter if you’re winning or losing he just plays at 100 per cent, once he puts the strip on he is all-go.
“Off the pitch he is a wee diamond, he’s great in the dressing room and on nights out too.
“He has been fabulous for me, I actually had a wee plan in the lead up to the Junior Cup final a few years ago.
“I told him a wee fib saying he hadn’t been doing as well as he could, he didn’t take it well… he scored and ran 70 yards to come and tell me all about it, so it worked!”
Henderson says McKenzie’s loyalty has been second-to-none, revealing he’s turned down moves to the SPFL in favour of remaining loyal to Hurlford.
Henderson said: “He has had opportunities to go play in the Scottish leagues, especially towards the latter years.
“But he’s an electrician and there was just too much of a gamble to give up his job and go play part-time, just with all the travelling.
“He felt he was enjoying his football at Hurlford and he wanted to stay, so we were delighted to keep him.”
On the day, Henderson beamed: “It’ll be a good day, I am really excited to see my old boys back together.
“I played 24 years, I won leagues with Stranraer and Ayr, but winning the Junior Cup stands out as a big occasion in my life.
“So to have some of the boys back who won that, we will have 10 of the 11 starters playing from that final which is great.
“I will be managing the 2013/14 Junior Cup team, a lot of them are still fit so it will be great.
“I haven’t seen Paul Cameron who was my captain for a couple of years, the same with Ross Robertson.
“Obviously Stewart Kean pops back in every so often, Glenn and Danny Mitchell I haven’t seen them for over a year.
“It’ll be nice to see those boys again, it’ll be a great occasion all round.
“It’s just the start of his testimonial year too as there’s another few events to come.
“John Garroch has got his teeth into that, and he is brilliant at what he does.
“Taz has picked the right committee for the testimonial, the upcoming events will be just as good!”
There will be four events spread across the season for the veteran nicknamed Taz, with the first and main one coming this weekend.
And McKenzie’s former assistant manager Garroch, who is heading up the testimonial committee, reckons it’s the least he deserves.
Garroch said: “He came to Hurlford with Darren Henderson and I when we left Glenafton.
“Since then he’s been a mainstay in the side, and has been the captain for a number of years.
“He has been outstanding, he was voted Hurlford’s player of the decade, there aren’t many better players in the Juniors.”
Garroch added: “He has played hundreds of games, he’s one of the best I’ve ever known and we just wanted to reward him for his loyalty.
“The first match is the main event, that will be a good family day and we’d encourage anyone to come along for a good, fun day.”
The three other events include a race night in October, a sportsman’s dinner in March and then a match against Ayr United legends next May.
The official charity partner of the ‘Taztimonial’ is Cash for Kids.
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