Murray on a mission to better his dad’s tally
EVERY father wants their son to do a little better than they did. To end up maybe an inch taller, a touch more full of follicle, slightly less awkward looking — and, should they follow in their professional footsteps, altogether more successful.
When Simon Murray sets a target of beating his dad’s contribution to Hibernian FC, then, he’s not going to get much of an argument from former Easter Road striker Gary.
Murray senior cost Hibs £60,000 when Bertie Auld signed him from Montrose back in 1980.
And the player known to one and all as ‘Charger’ is still remembered fondly in Leith, despite a knee injury contributing to a return of just 18 goals in 80 appearances over three seasons.
It turns out that Gary is equally enamoured with his own memories of life in the green and white, if former Dundee United forward Simon’s testimony is anything to go by.
‘The family have always had a soft spot for Hibs, even though I’m from Dundee,’ said the summer signing.
‘He’s got pictures (from his time at Hibs) in his kitchen and it’s always a team we’ve looked out for.
‘When the opportunity came to come to Hibs, it was good — and I think he was a bit emotional as well.
‘His favourite memory? I think he scored two against Celtic. In fact, he did score two against Celtic — because he never stops going on about it!
‘He was up against Danny McGrain and he said he had him on toast. Those were the words he used.’
Murray junior took the old man down to the impressive Hibernian Training Centre early on, provoking the inevitable Four Yorkshiremen-style chat about how lucky the modern players have it. Aye, the Hibs players of old used to dream of training out of the wind and rain…
‘Yeah, when I signed, he came down with me,’ said Murray. ‘He was here a good few years ago, so they never had a training facility like this. I think they were just at a public park.
‘He came down and loved the look of the place, the facilities that are just amazing. He knows it can only help me improve.
‘In his day, I think they were running up dunes. He loved this when he came through. It’s a great place to be playing.’
The ‘Charger’ nickname came from Murray senior’s refusal to either give up on a lost cause or let defenders settle for a moment.
His son, now 25 and finally getting a crack at Scotland’s top division after years spent working his way up from the Juniors, has heard all about it.
‘I think I do play in a similar way to the way he played,’ he said. ‘I’m called “Mini-Charger” from Jackie McNamara, because his dad played with my dad.
‘I’m hoping I can do better than what he did when he was here. That’s my goal.’
Even without his dad’s back story, the tale of Murray rising through the ranks has enough drama for most.
He also started his career with Montrose but played just once for the senior side, dropping into the Juniors with Downfield, Tayport and Dundee Violet before breaking back into the Scottish leagues with Arbroath.
Good enough to persuade United to spend £50,000 on him, Murray is grateful for the opportunities he has had following those early setbacks.
‘I suppose I’ve done it the hard way,’ he said. ‘I got my chance. I still feel as if I’ve got a bit to learn and, hopefully, I can do that under the manager (Neil Lennon) here. I’m sure I’ll improve.’