I didn’t kick a ball for

McGarvey reveals Sir Alex’s departure left him feeling raw

St Mirren legend Frank McGarvey holds no grudges against Sir Alex Ferguson for the thrown glasses which used to smash above him and his teammates’ heads.

But the former Buddies striker admits the fact he left the club for Aberdeen without saying goodbye still stings the 64-yearold to this day.

McGarvey makes no bones about the fact the pair had a love- hate relationship during their time at Love Street.

While they were incredibly successful on the park, helping each other to lift their first silverware as a player and manager respectively back in 1977, in the dressing room and behind the scenes the pair didn’t always see eye to eye.

Ex- Celtic striker McGarvey insists the Manchester United icon forged him into the clinical striker he was, but says the way he left the Buddies for the Dons back in 1978 without saying farewell to him remains a bone of contention.

Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, he said: “Alex is one of the greatest managers ever in Scotland.

“He needed a bit of persuading to get me in at St Mirren and was only just starting out in management. He was trying things for the first time.

“He trained us incredibly hard, and all of a sudden we were up in the First Division.

“I remember right at the end of the season when we won the First Division, we were away at Dens Park playing Dundee and we had to win to win the league.

“Before the game in the dressing room he asked me if I could score in important games. He asked me to go and get one for him.

“We ended up beating them 4-0 and I scored a hat-trick. It was magic.

“He absolutely hated players drinking alcohol, but after the game he took me straight to a hotel bar and bought me a pint of lager. That said everything from him, he didn’t need to say anything else.

“It was a first trophy for me and for him. He realised the significance of it.

“But we definitely had a lovehate relationship. He used to throw glasses at us if he was unhappy, but he always used to aim a bit above your head so you didn’t get hurt.

“I used to hate getting it in my hair and I remember once a bit was stuck in there and I went for a header and ended up with a cut. He asked what the hell was going on, and I just said ‘well you threw the glass!’”

McGarvey continued: “At the end of the day he was a winner. He taught me a lot. As a former