Testimonial events are set for “class act” Sean
Rutherglen Glencairn gaffer Willie Harvey has hailed long-serving midfielder Sean McGuire a“class act”as the club prepare a series of events to mark the player’s testimonial season.
The 33-year-old is now in his 10th year with the Glens and a testimonial match and speakers event are set to take place in April and May to reward McGuire for his service.
The speakers event has already been announced for Sunday, April 2 with compere Des McKeown joined by former referee Willie Young and comedian Joe Camay, while the testimonial match for the former Blantyre Vics player is set to be announced in due course, once opponents are confirmed.
Harvey first discovered McGuire at Vics when he was manager at Victoria Park and their long-standing partnership continued at the Glens, who McGuire joined from Vics in October 2012.
And Harvey is delighted to see McGuire recognised after overcoming a horror injury during his career.
He said: “It’s very well deserved for Sean. He is a very loyal boy.
“When I was the manager of Blantyre Victoria, he was playing for the under17s on a Sunday as a 16-year-old and I brought him into the first team there.
“He ended up playing a few games at that age but then he took a really bad injury. He had a bad break to his leg and he was out for the best part of a year.
“He had to have pins put into his foot and his ankle, but you wouldn’t know it now because he’s just a terrific player. He is a class act.
“And it is testament to him to see how well he has come through that.
“We are having a speakers do for Sean in April and we’ve already had folk on the phone looking for tickets so we are expecting that to be a sellout.
“We’ve got provisional dates for his game as well and we will be hoping to get that sorted for a Sunday towards the end of April or May for him. Hopefully we can announce the team for that soon as well.”
McGuire remains a mainstay as Glens look to climb away from trouble in the bottom half of the West of Scotland First Division this season.
And Harvey says McGuire has never let him down.
He added: “Sean is one of the first names on the team sheet and you only realise how much you miss him when he is not in the side.
“A lot of times he is an unsung hero and he goes under the radar.
“That’s really because we just expect good things from him. You will always get a minimum seven out of 10 from Sean. I can’t think of any time he’s been less than a seven for me.”
Tickets for the speaker’s event, which will run from 2pm to 6pm, are priced at £25 and are available from Rutherglen committee members or by contacting the club via their social media channels.