PAL HAILS HUMBLE GIANT
TRIBUTE TO SIR KENNY Old pal McGrain hails humble giant who has become a Knight
THOSE big red cheeks will be burning a little brighter this morning in pride at being knighted Sir Kenny.
That big bum he used so effectively against opposition defences will be replaced by a swelling chest after Scotland’s most celebrated player was handed his greatest honour.
Former Celtic team-mate Danny McGrain, one of his oldest pals, has led the tributes to King Kenny after he was given the highest accolade for his services to football and also the city of Liverpool.
Sir Kenny becomes only the fourth Scot to be knighted for his contribution to the game, following Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby and ex-Celtic chairman Sir Robert Kelly.
He also joins former Parkhead director Lord Willie Haughey, the refridgeration tycoon who was knighted in the 2012 Birthday Honours list for services to business and philanthropy.
McGrain said: “It’s brilliant Kenny has joined Willie in being given a knighthood. I still remember in the early days Willie had a second-hand television shop and gave Kenny a job.
“Willie thought it important for players to think about life after football and it was a chance for Kenny to see the real world.
“He lasted three weeks. It’s fair to say he was a better player than a telly salesman. It’s amazing. Kenny is a Sir and Willie is a Sir plus. I’m absolutely delighted for my old pal.
“I first came across Kenny in 1965 when he was at trials for the Under-15 Glasgow schoolboys select and I was trying out for the U-16s at Pollok Park. That wee round face and those big red cheeks stuck out a mile.
“We didn’t actually meet until two years later when we were both on the books of Celtic. I told him I remembered him from those trials but he didn’t have a clue who I was.”
McGrain and Dalglish were two of the finest players of their generation but their natural talent was bolstered by hours training and preparing on the public parks of Glasgow.
McGrain was raised in Drumchapel to the west of Glasgow and Dalglish came from Milton in the north, before moving south to Govan as a teenager.
However, that geographical distance did not preventing them forming a close friendship over their mutual love of the game as fledgling players on the pitches around McGrain’s home patch.
He added: “There was a huge area of red blaes football pitches near my house. I had an old plastic ball and we would meet up and kick it together until we lost track of time. We were constantly playing because we loved football and it gave us a greater understanding of how to use the ball.”
The two pals were included in the travelling party for the 1970 European Cup Final at the San Siro in Milan, which Celtic lost 2-1 after extra time to unfancied Feyenoord.
Dalglish had already made his firstteam breakthrough by that stage, although he did not become a regular until 1971. McGrain made his debut in the months after the ill-fated final.
McGrain added: “Mr Stein invited us to be part of the group for the 1970 European Cup Final and clearly saw something in us – I only wish they’d told us at the time! Seriously, I know
the players in that side were surprised at the ability, talent and strength of Kenny who was still a young boy.
“He had the greatest football brain ever. He was also a dream to play with because he was always available for passes, took them into his body and made them look good.
“He was a golden nugget as a player, a class act. He made the rest of us look so much better than we were. It was a pleasure to be in the same side as him for club and country.”
Dalglish’s most significant honours came after his move to Anfield in 1977 for a then British record fee of £440,000. He won three European Cups as a player, six English titles, the FA Cup and four League Cup badges.
As manager he won three titles, two FA Cups and the League Cup but it’s off the field as much as on it he has become an icon to the people of his adopted city. He has been a tireless campaigner for justice for the Hillsborough victims and counselled many families through their grief, proving himself to be a man of substance as much as football style.
Scotland has boasted too few genuine players on the world stage over the last half century but McGrain is in no doubt Dalglish fits the bill.
He said: “Usually, to be tagged ‘world class’ you have to have played in World Cup finals. Kenny didn’t achieve that but is still renowned throughout the football world.
“You can only admire what he has done for Liverpool. He deserves his honour – it’s great for Scottish football too.”