A personal and heartfelt tribute has been made by Sir Alex Ferguson to his old protege Tony Fitzpatrick.
The St Mirren chief executive spent his last game in the stand on Saturday before he retires at the end of the month.
The 66-year-old is bowing out from official duties in Paisley after a career long devotion, including two spells as player and as manager.
Fans in the North Bank section let him know of their appreciation during the Dundee United match.
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And Sir Alex paid his own tribute, filmed at his home, which was beamed to the SMiSA stadium.
He said: “Go back to 1974 and he was 19 years of age, I had just joined St Mirren and I realised right away that this young man was special.
“His determination to play and his ability to play forced me to make him a captain.
“And that was in spite of many experienced players at the time.
“But what a career, fantastic, and I think he will be very proud of his contribution to St Mirren football club over many, many years.
“Not just as a player, but later on as the general manager.
“We all wish him very well with his deserved retirement.
“Tony, you were a fantastic player for me, an example to everyone, and you are still an example.
“Good luck and all the best.”
Tony will be spotted in the stands again, but only in an ambassadorial role.
When he returned to St Mirren in 2016 as chief, he always intended to stay on until his retirement.
And he said: “While I look forward to what retirement has in store, I will still be around the SMiSA Stadium to support the team.”
Sir Alex was in charge of St Mirren for four years from 1974.
And Tony only recently confessed to an elaborate con of the man who became one of the world’s finest managers.
The young player had been ill and wanted to reassure the boss he was fit again.
Tony’s dad posed as a doctor and his mum as his secretary to assure the team boss their son was fit for a reserve game.
Tony revealed: “He called me into the office and said ‘I want you to play in this game as I want to see you play, but I know you’ve been ill.’
“He asked if I was OK and I said yes, but I wasn’t. He said ‘give me your doctor’s number’ and I said I was going to the doctor’s right now.
“He said ‘get the doctor to phone me’. So I went home and told my mum and dad.”
‘Mr Ferguson, I’ve got Doctor McClure on the line’
Fitzpatrick said his father came up with a plan.
“There was only one person in the street - Jenny Little - who had a phone,” he said. “So me, my mum and my dad went into Jenny Little’s and gave her money to use the phone.
“On the old red phones, you could press it and there was a noise, so my mum kidded-on she was the doctor’s secretary and got through to Alex and said ‘Mr Ferguson, I’ve got Doctor McClure on the line for you just now’ and then my dad went on and spoke away.
“I could hear the conversation and my dad said ‘he’s fine now, he’ll be able to play in the game’.
“If my mum and dad hadn’t done that, who knows?”
“He changed my life completely. I’d been told in my career I was too small to be a professional footballer, so I expected Fergie to turn round and tell me I was not good enough and too small.
“But he changed my life completely because he stared at me and said ‘Tony, I’ve been watching you very carefully and you’ve great potential.’”
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