The Real Mackay

The latest edition of the excellent FourFourTwo magazine contains an interview with a man who epitomises a great Scottish football institution - Dave Mackay. Years ago, before Scottish football was in the rather shambolic state it finds itself now, there were some great Scots who would grace any side in the world. Celtic's Jimmy Johnstone, Rangers Jim Baxter, Manchester United's Denis Law. There was no one better, however, than the man who drove the glorious Heart of Midlothian team of the 1950s.

Now 74 years of age, Mackay demonstrated in the interview that he has lost none of the sheer grit, determination and will to win that were his trademark. Here are some of his quotes from the interview:

At 14 years old, just to get near Tynecastle was a dream - I used to walk three miles to get early so I could sneak under the turnstile because I couldn't afford to get in.

I used to enjoy Christmas and New Year - because we beat Hibs.

When I did my National Service I made sure I behaved myself. That way I would get the weekend off to go and play for my beloved Hearts.

On that photograph of him and Billy Bremner - I didn't like it as it portrayed me as a bully. Bremner was a brilliant little player - but a dirty bastard!

When I was manager of Derby County we won the league with one game to go. Ipswich lost a midweek game while we were having our Player of the Year dinner. The celebrations started right away and I told the players 'help yourselves' I couldn't care less because we'd won the league but the players were still drunk when we played the following Saturday!

I'll always be a Hearts fan, my family are all Hearts fans - although my wife supports Hibs! And she's been my priciest purchase! Just kidding - she'll batter me...

All I can say is Mrs Mackay must be a formidable woman. The FourFourTwo feature was one of the best I've read for some time. Although I never saw the great man play for Hearts - he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur three years before I was born - the legend that is Dave Mackay still burns brightly in Gorgie. When I wrote an article about him for the Hearts programme a few years ago, the programme editor at the time told me Mackay had taken the time to contact the club to say thanks for the tribute. Small wonder greatness is bestowed upon him.

We'll never see his like again.