St Johnstone’s cup-double winning captain Jason Kerr is delighted club legend Murray Davidson is finally celebrating his testimonial year.
The long-serving midfielder signed for the Perth club way back in 2009 and was meant to be honoured a couple of years ago, before Covid-19 hit.
After being put on hold, plans are now well under way and a testimonial dinner scheduled for Saturday, November 12 at the Ex Servicemen’s Club – guest speakers are Craig Brown and Mark Hateley – is already sold out.
Kerr, now of Wigan Athletic, says that former team-mate Davidson deserves all the praise that comes his way.
“It was 2014 when I first came in and, of course, Murray was there,” Kerr recalls.
“He has been ever-present since and is a massive character in the changing room. And he has a lot of influence on the younger players.
“He jokes around a lot but when it comes to the pitch or training ground, he takes it very seriously. Murray hates losing and if we put in a bad performance you would know about it. He has a lot of passion.
“And he has footballing ability too. In training, when you watched him closely, he never gave the ball away.
“I know he is known for tackling, winning the ball and headers. But his ability with the ball is up there too. He is just an all-round good player.
“It’s a massive achievement to play 10 years. St Johnstone were able to hold onto a lot of successful players through the years. Muzz really deserves this.”
Davidson had missed Saints’ 2014 Scottish Cup success through injury and was again sidelined for the League Cup triumph in 2021, the latter of which Kerr made sure he was part of the celebrations.
Kerr told the PA: “Unfortunately he was injured for the cup final in 2014. Maybe he thought there wasn’t another chance.
“The League Cup final then comes around and he missed that. He must have thought his luck was out.
“Although he didn’t play in that final, he was massive in the games leading up to it.
“I thought it was really important he was involved in the celebrations, and every other player who had made a contribution.”
Of course, Saints went on to complete an historic double and Davidson finally got his special moment by playing his part in the Scottish Cup Hampden glory against Hibs.
“It was great we managed to get to the Scottish Cup final and that he played,” Kerr said. “Everyone was just so happy.
“Everyone at Saints, including fans, were buzzing for him and it would’ve been a huge moment for him.
“You don’t see too much emotion coming from Muzz but I think there was a bit after it. There was a lot of emotion from everyone.”
Kerr is sure that Davidson has plenty of years left in the tank and legs yet.
He said: “I’d say Muzz has got quite a few years left in him – even with the tackles he puts in!
“He’s one of the fittest players I’ve seen. Whenever he came back from pre-season he was able to run all day. That gives you a good chance of playing into your late thirties.”
Kerr, Wigan’s player of the month, hopes Davidson can help push Saints further up the standings after a positive result against St Mirren and then point against Ross County.
“The gaffer just needed to get a few good results on the board and get everyone’s confidence up,” he said.
“Hopefully St Johnstone have turned a corner now and they can really push on and get up the table.”
While tickets for Davidson’s testimonial dinner on November 12 are sold out, the following day (Sunday, November 13) a Q&A event takes place at the Ex Servicemen’s Club.
Special guests are Tommy Wright, Jim Weir and Alex Totten, with kick-off pencilled in for 11am.
Tickets remain available, priced at £25, which includes a breakfast roll and drink.
