Outgoing chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick paid tribute to St Mirren’s supporters and revealed he will forever be grateful to them for standing by his family during their “darkest moments”.
The club announced last night the talented former midfielder and manager would be stepping down from the role he took up in 2016 in March when he turns 66.
Fitzpatrick has spent the majority of his life linked to the Paisley club, experiencing highs and lows both on and off the pitch.
Those include lifting the Scottish Cup as a player in 1987 and latterly helping the club achieve their goal of becoming majority fan-owned, as well as setting up a charitable foundation and steering the Saints Academy into the elite tier of Scottish football.
He insists he will always remember the “incredible” support the Saints faithful gave him when he lost his six-year-old son, Tony Junior, to leukaemia in January 1983 during his second spell at Love Street as a player.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Fitzpatrick said: “I am completely humbled by the amount of messages I’ve had since the announcement.
“People call me ‘Greetin’ face’ for a reason, and when everything came through (on Thursday night) I was very emotional. It was very touching.
“I first came to the club for training at Love Street when I was 12 and I’ve been associated with the club ever since. The club will never leave my heart.
“In mine and my family’s darkest moments, the club were there for me.
“This comes from my heart and honestly, I love talking about my son Tony.
“He took unwell about six weeks after I’d returned to the club as a player the second time.
“He was battling leukaemia for two years and honestly, the support from the fans at that time was beyond incredible.
“I remember when Tony was a mascot against Hearts and it was a huge, special moment for us.
“I’ve had hard times in life when I’ve lost savings, lost important football games.
“But when Tony and my family needed support, the Saints fans backed us then and I will never forget that.
“I feel blessed to have had Saints in my life and I’ll always be around the club because I couldn’t bare to be away from it for too long.”
- See tomorrow's Paisley Daily Express and the Renfrewshire Live Sport App to read the full feature interview with the Saints icon.
