RUSTY NAILED IT AND THEN SOME

RUSTY AND JUNIORS TEAM MATE CHRISTY McKENZIE(Camelon)

Most of his playing stints worked out well, others were shorter than he would have liked, but what there’s no denying is that Colin Harkness was always cut out for the top end of football.

His grit, determination and strength of character qualities were to the fore almost from his birth in the Ayrshire village of Galston in 1962 … and they had to be… because his Dad’s vocation for working on the farms meant the family were forever moving on from one residence to another and it was only when an 11 year old Colin was on the brink of beginning his Secondary School education that the Harkness clan settled on a Hurlford abode.

The flame haired youngster attended James Hamilton Academy in Kilmarnock and it was there he picked up the sobriquet which he we went on to be more popularly known as.

He takes up the story,” It was some morning roll call formality and I never answered to my name,(not deliberately I dare add), so the teacher tried to get my attention by calling out `Ginger` which  also didn’t do the trick  however I did respond when he then called out `Rusty` and the name has stuck with me ever since ! ”

The young Rusty played in an underachieving school football team over the next few years alongside Jim Cree, later to sign for Ayr United, and he also turned out for a more relatively successful Hurlford Boys Club whose burgeoning star turn when they reached Under 16 level was close friend and Celtic S form signing Colin Douglas .

Rusty revealed,” Colin didn’t make the grade at Celtic but no less than Billy Bremner signed him for Doncaster Rovers so he moved down there to play for them and also went on to have a decent spell with Rotheram United.

“He still lives in Doncaster to this day and I make a point of calling in to see him whenever I’m down that way.”

Rusty refusing to tie himself to any particular club over the next couple of seasons saw him drop off the footballing radar until rediscovering his hunger for the game again at 18 years of age led to him plumping to join crack Amateur outfit Knockentiber, managed by the legendary Hughie Carswell and whose playing ranks included former Scottish Junior Cup winner Sandy Hume (Irvine Meadow 1972). Eddie Gemmell, Chuffy Train (brother of Les) and powerful centreback Bobby Currie whom Rusty seems to think was also on the Medda Park books ?

He recalled, “Looking back now, I was predominantly playing with and against grown-ups for the first time in my career and felt a bit out of my depth , a view obviously shared by Hughie because he undoubtedly was picky to a fault about what games to play me in and I found myself more often out of the team than in it.

“Not the ideal scenario for someone who only ever wanted to play regularly and biding my time was not an option for the headstrong teenager I had become  so there was nothing for it but to up and leave Knockentber in the February of 1980,  hardly my best career move seeing as a few months later they beat Bannockburn 3-1 at Hampden Park to lift the Scottish Amateur Cup.

“Great for the guys and a kick in the teeth for me my but I did take consolation from believing I wouldn’t have been in the frame anyway (remember only 2 substitutes back then) to pick up a winners medal.”

Rusty’s electing to sign for the quaintly named Newmilns Vesuvius  led to him teaming up for the following 18 months with notables such as Billy Minford (brother of Jock), Willie McMullen (ex-Lugar Boswell ) and Bertie Black who had played in the  Darvel side beaten 3-0 by Bo’ness United in the 1976 Junior Cup Final .

His departure midway through the amateur outfit’s 1982/83 campaign was down to Rusty’s successful showing as an Annbank United trialist against Troon in a Portland Park match which left him suitably impressed by team mates Jimmy McGuire , John Stevenson, Sloan brothers Danny and Tommy, Barney Duffy and Kenny Wilson among others.

He recalled , “ Jim Gilmour was the manager and I was only too willing to sign on the dotted line for him and become part of a Bankies side that went on to win  promotion to the Ayrshire First Division where we were never disgraced and more than gave a good account of ourselves despite coming up against the cream of  Junior football  in the Auchinleck, Cumnock ,Irvine Meadow and Kilbirnie Ladeside sides of that time.”

“The inevitable break-up of our team led to me being enticed at the start of the 1984/85 season to join Beith where long standing friends Jock Minford and Sammy Murray were the management team and as luck would have it we were drawn against Annbank in the Scottish and lost 3-1.”

His day-job commitments with Scottish Power, in particular the onerous requirement to be on a stand-by rota at weekends, intervened to severely limit the 23 year old‘s  availability for games so he felt compelled to take a step back from the Juniors and play instead in the significantly less demanding surroundings of his local amateur side Hurlford Thistle ,managed by Billy Minford .

Six months down the line ,Rusty was proving himself a revelation at this lower level and word of his displays soon reached the ear of former Darvel and Irvine Meadow great Willie Frew,  back then scouting for Kilmarnock where Eddie Morrison was team boss with Sanny McAnespie as his No 2.

Featuring in a couple of Reserve Team matches wherein he netted a commendable three goals  (a brace followed by a single ) was the upshot of a  recommendation from big Frew however the lack of any  Killie follow up to his scoring appearances saw a disappointed Rusty revert to playing again for Hurlford Thistle .

But  a matter of weeks later , on the Friday evening before a vital Hurlford Thistle contest , he opened his door to a Committee member saying Sanny had been on the phone asking for  him to turn out for Kilmarnock’s first team  away to  Montrose the following day.

Said Rusty, “ I hesitated to give an answer because of not wanting to let  Thistle  down so late in the day but our club officials convened together by telephone that same evening and were in full  agreement that I should play instead  for Kilmarnock.

“ Thankfully they did because when I met up with the team ,Eddie said I would be playing from the start and I went on to do reasonably well in scoring one of our goals (Stuart McLean bagged the other ) in a 2-0 win and my reward was the offer of a 3 year contract , promptly signed and sealed on the bus journey  home.”

RUSTY AT KILMARNOCK(3rd FROM RIGHT MIDDLE ROW)

Sanny departing Rugby Park in 1987 to take up the reins at Stranraer was followed by Morrison’s replacement at the Killie helm by the so called “Largs Mafia” of Jim Fleeting, Jim McSherry and Frank Coulston whose different approach and methods had Rusty` fearful` when he reported in for resigning talks after his contract expired at the end of the 1988/89 season.

He said, “ The delight felt when told  I was still in their plans saw me sign a new deal for nothing which sounds ridiculous now but I’m a lifelong Killie fan and just wanted to be around the place particularly when the vibes were so strong alluding to Tommy Burns coming to the club.

“You can just imagine how I felt a few days later when Fleets called to say there had been a rethink and I was going to be way down the pecking order in terms of a first team jersey so I asked for the signed contract to be torn up and took up the opportunity of a move to Stranraer where Sanny had shown a strong interest in getting me on board to be part of a decent side he was putting together containing the likes of John McNiven, David `Pele` Walker, Lenny Lowe, Darren Henderson, Tommy Sloan, Lex Grant and Tony Gallagher to name but a few.

“To be Stranraer’s top scorer for a couple of years was a dream come  true and I enjoyed many good times at Stair Park until being left out of sorts and totally disillusioned with the club over a contractual mix-up midway through my third season.”

“At Sanny’s bidding, I had previously signed a one year extension to my contract, of that I’m sure, but the time had come around to talk terms again and it was discovered my name was on a two year deal.

“The option was there for me to play out another season but I was unhappy and just wanted away from the place so I almost bit the hand off Cumnock boss Mark Shanks when he made a signing approach which I’ve always believed Sanny, as a former player in their 1979 Scottish Junior Cup winning side ,was behind .”

Glenafton, where feted goalkeeper Alan Rough was in charge of team affairs came in with a late bid for Rusty however the  arguments put up by  Shanksy and assistant Bobby McCulloch convinced him that Cumnock’s playing style would be more to his taste so it forever makes him smile sardonically (and sometimes laugh out loud ) to think he arrived  at Townhead Park in the same 1992/93 season that saw the Glens  lift the Junior Cup for the first time in their history with a 1-0 triumph over Tayport.

IN HIS CUMNOCK HEYDAY

Rusty’s return to the Junior scene was to earn him international recognition (firstly from the Scotland Juniors management team of Dickie Brock and John Brown as well as latterly Dennis Gray and Willie Young) however on the club front, things were going from bad to worse after the sacking of Shanks was followed by replacement McCulloch being shown the door as well as next in the firing line, renowned ex-Pollok captain Gordon Wilson, whom it would be fair to say Nock supporters never took a liking to.

But what proved to be the last straw for Rusty was Cumnock’s subsequent relegation on the back of their controversial appointment of legendary Auchinleck Talbot team boss Willie Knox which brought the goalscoring ace to call time on a turbulent three years playing stint and ship out to ambitious  Kilwinning Rangers where another ex-Kilmarnock ace Jim McSherry was in the manager’s chair.

He reminisced , “ I was 33 of age then and  getting on a bit when I came to the Buffs but still performing well enough to be play a couple more times for Scotland  under Dennis and Billy.

“Altogether I was privileged to play a total of eight times and scored four goals but I’ve only six caps to show for it because players only received one cap for  the Quadrangular Tournament (three games ) and I twice took part in it  along with outstanding guys such as Willie Devine, (Shotts Bon Accord) George Gemmell (Auchinleck) , Raymond Day (Cumnock) , Willie Gibson (Petershill) , Hamish Mackay(Tayport)  and not forgetting the Glenafton pair of Tam Brown and Alan Rennie. “

Despite being in the autumn of his chequered playing career, Rusty’s all-out action style   soon established himself as a firm favourite of the Abbey Park faithful and following McSherry’s departure from the hotseat, continued to be a regular pick of new gaffer Bobby Dickson.

It’s a tribute to his commitment and fitness that aged 37 he was still holding down a jersey in his fifth Buffs season going into their all-conquering 1998/99 campaign when the major prizes of Scottish Junior Cup , West of Scotland Cup and Ayrshire First Division title were won along with an assortment of local Ayrshire trophies.

RUSTY PUTTING IN A TACKLE FOR THE BUFFS v POLLOK

He revealed, “Gerry Peline ,Norman Montgomery and I certainly  had  a healthy  competition for the forward  line places that season but it tended to be myself and Monty that got the nod in our Scottish ties because he and I were the preferred partnership in every round up to and including both games in our  Quarter Final victory over Auchinleck Talbot.

“The games were coming thick and fast because we were going strongly in every competition and ahead of a West of Scotland tie against Lesmahagow, Bobby asked if I was up for taking a rest to allow him to play Gerry from the start and he duly proceeded to score five goals in a 9-0 romp and there was no way he was going out of the team from then on.

“He was a terrific striker and went on to score the winner when we beat Kelty Hearts 1-0 in the Cup Final but I’ve often wondered  what might have been if I’d only told Bobby I didn’t need a rest! “

The curtain coming down on Kilwinning’s remarkable season of six trophy wins saw Buffs chairman Alan McLuckie receive a phone call from little known South of Scotland club Tarff Rovers enquiring after Rusty’s availability which obscure as it sounded was to culminate in the veteran front man moving on a free transfer to the remote footballing outpost of Kirkcolm.

The South of Scotland League club’s ambition had derived little reward even though Chic Charnley turned  out for them the previous season  but now a Tarff side comprising of  mainly Cumnock based amateur players, became totally galvanized by Rusty’s arrival and went on to win  five  of the silverware prizes available to them.

“Every game home or away was akin to an expedition even though the club sponsor Andy Simpson had given the players a mini-bus to get them around and I decided after one season to cut my losses and leave.” confessed Rusty

“Derek `Freddy` Frye came in as team manager and wanted me as his assistant but I opted instead to join forces with the former Beith goalkeeper Rab Hamilton and take charge of my local side Hurlford Thistle who had hit lean times and dropped down a few divisions.

“Together over the next 5/6 seasons we helped restore the club’s status in the amateur game by overseeing Hurlford winning the Second Division , The First and then the Premier as well as reaching the Scottish Cup quarter finals and the West semis.

“By then I was feeling tuckered out at 44 years  of age and thought the time was right to walk away and I’ve remained on the outside looking in ever since other than an  all too brief episode back at Kilwinning Rangers in 2008 when the management pairing of Alan McTurk and Sammy McGivern were keen for me to help out on the coaching front .

In a somewhat reflective tone, the nowadays 61 year old went on to say

 “You know, it’s only now when I don’t have any involvement whatsoever that I’ve come to realize just how much of my life was taken up by football!  

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 25^th FEBRUARY 2023 (Kick Offs 2 PM unless stated): P.D.M Buildbase Premier Division. Cambuslang Rangers v Irvine Meadow, Arthurlie v Troon, Largs Thistle v Petershill, Beith v Darvel, Pollok v Cumnock, Rob Roy v Hurlford Utd. PDM Buildbase First Division. Blantyre Vics v Thorniewood Utd Benburb v Kilbirnie Ladeside,  Johnstone Burgh v Whitletts Vics.PDM Buildbase Second Division. Maybole v Greenock, Muirkirk v Maryhill, Renfrew v Ardeer Thistle, Glasgow Utd v Ashfield, Wishaw v St Anthonys, Yoker Athletic v Glasgow Perthshire(Friday 7.30PM) Kilsyth Rangers vGlasgowUniversity. PDM Buildbase Third Division. Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Lesmahagow. Carluke Rovers v East Kilbride Thistle, Vale of Clyde v Kello Rovers, Dalry Thistle v Bellshill Athletic, Port Glasgow v Larkhall Thistle , Saltcoats Vics v Finnart, Lanark Utd v Girvan,  Lugar Boswell v Irvine Vics, Newmains Utd v Royal Albert.PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Harmony Row v St Peters,  Kilsyth Athletic v Thorn Athletic,, Glenvale v Campbeltown Pupils, Eglinton v Threave Rovers, Rossvale Academy v West Park Utd. West of Scotland Cup 3^rd Round.St Rochs v BSC Glasgow, Kilwinning Rangers v St Cadocs(Friday 7.30PM),

Rutherglen Glencairn v Craigmark, Shotts Bon Accord v Gartcairn, Auchinleck Talbot v Glenafton, Neilston v Rossvale, Clydebank v Cumbernauld Utd, Forth Wanderers v Drumchapel Utd.

Regards   Jim O’Donnell

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