Weeks after he left...
striker himself he taught me how to use my elbows properly.
“It sounds so simple, but using them properly helped me beat defenders to the ball.
“I got sent off a couple of times early in my career, and he took me in and told me he needed me on the park to score the goals.
“All of these lessons mattered. He taught me discipline and he taught me to deal with the game.
“My biggest disappointment was when Fergie went to Aberdeen. He never told me that he was going.
“He was the person that I depended on most to develop as a footballer, so it was the worst news I could get at that time.
“For three weeks after he left I could hardly kick a ball.”
While Ferguson went on to become one of the greatest managers of all time after trophyladen spells with Aberdeen and Manchester United, McGarvey enjoyed a hugely successful career on the pitch himself.
As well as winning the First Division title in 1977 with Saints, he helped fire St Mirren and Celtic to three Scottish Cup successes
– as well as winning two Premier Division titles and enjoying a Scottish League Cup success with the Hoops.
McGarvey insists that team spirit underpinned every successful squad he played in, recalling an important end of season trip to the Caribbean which helped build strong bonds with his Buddies back in 1976.
He said: “When I look back at that St Mirren team back in the 1970s, all of our squad gave 100 per cent all of the time.
“I look at the modern game now and sometimes it looks like some players can’t even be bothered.
“I remember the chairman taking us to Barbados, French Guiana and Surinam for a tour for about two and a half weeks.
“I’d hardly ever left the country before! It was absolutely magic. We played together against a few different teams and we gelled as a team ourselves.
“We worked so hard for each other and we brought that teamethic back with us. I tried to carry that on wherever I went and every successful team absolutely needs it.
“Players need to work hard for each other or they’ll never be successful on the pitch.”
Despite the incredible number of winners’ medals McGarvey built up over his 23-year playing career, it was a surprising late league title that the free-scoring striker holds as one of his most cherished achievements.
He explained: “I really enjoyed my career and I think I made the most of it.
“The late 70s with St Mirren is definitely one of the best periods I had, because the fans were loving us and we played really great football.
“Coming back and winning the Scottish Cup with them in 1987 was also special, because people had said my trophy-winning days were over when I left Celtic.
“People might be surprised but winning Division Two with Clyde was massive for me because it meant I’d won Division 2, Division 1, the Prem, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup.
“That’s one of my proudest achievements in the game.”