I’m ready to make Mark for Hoppy
Ruthless Mark McKenzie insists the long wait for his first-ever senior goals was well worth it.
The Ayr academy product was outstanding as The Honest Men eased to a 3-1 win at Dundee.
And McKenzie, who bagged a double and led the line superbly, insists he’s ready to seize his chance to be David Hopkin’s main man.
The 20-year-old revealed: “The manager is saying that everyone in the team will get their chance so hopefully I can continue to take that opportunity.
“I’m just delighted to get the goals – I’ve been waiting a long time for them.
“I took a bit of confidence from the first goal and I was delighted to see the second one fly in the way it did.
“The gaffer has come in and encouraged us to have a go at goal whenever we can.”
McKenzie has long been regarded as a bright talent at Somerset but has largely been restricted to appearances from the bench so far.
But after his man-of-the-match display on Tayside, which included a 20-yard cracker to put Ayr 3-0 up, he earned the glowing praise of his new boss.
McKenzie added: “It’s been tough to keep my head up waiting for that break.
“But I looked at how hard players like Luke McCowan and Alan Forrest worked to come through while I’ve been here.
“I know how hard they worked every day, as everyone in the team does, so I know I just have to follow their example.”
A thrilled Hopkin added: “We were organised, we had pace up front and young Mark led the line superbly.
“I’m delighted for him that he got his first senior goals for the club.
“The whole team to a man did magnificently. We worked to a plan and limited to Dundee to very little.
“It was important that we came and got something from the game.
“Every time my teams played against Ayr down the years they were a fantastic footballing team and you saw that ability tonight combined with a little bit of grit and determination that I always like to have.”