Rory McKenzie on highs and lows of being a 'Killie man'

The National

a day ago

Mr Kilmarnock? You get the feeling that such a weighty title wouldn't sit easily with the understated 31-year-old.
'I'm not really one for being in the limelight,' McKenzie said.
"I'm quite a private person and I just like to get on with my football.'
Maybe then the humbler title of 'a Killie man' would be more appropriate, though it would be something he would undoubtedly be deeply proud to be known as.
McKenzie will be unable to avoid being in the spotlight next Friday evening, mind you, when the Kilmarnock faithful will converge upon Rugby Park to thank him for his 14 years (and counting) of honourable first-team service at his testimonial match.
Fittingly, there will also be a fair few Ayr supporters packed into the Chadwick Stand giving him dog's abuse, no doubt, with Killie's bitter rivals the only choice for McKenzie when selecting the opposition for his special evening. He wouldn't have it any other way.
'It had to be Ayr,' he said.
'It's a fixture that has been good to me at times over the years and not so good at other times, but they are always great occasions, and I really wanted it to be a game that meant something rather than just a bit of a kickabout with folk going through the motions.
'We will want to win and so will they, so it should be a great night. It's been a long time in the making. The committee have done an unbelievable job to get it to this stage, so it'll be good to see everyone.
'I never thought I would get a testimonial at the club. But when it was mentioned to me, it was a great honour. It's a massive achievement for me and my family.
'It's a bit surreal really. It will be good to see everybody, have a bit of a celebration and just be able to thank the fans for their support over the years. They have been there through thick and thin, through everything.
'I just hope we win!'
Through thick and thin is a rather neat way of describing the fluctuations of McKenzie's Killie career, from unforgettable celebrations to trying tribulations. There was the low of a devastating relegation, the high of European qualification, and just about everything else in-between.
He wouldn't have dreamed he would have been able to experience so much with his boyhood club when Kenny Shiels first threw him a blue and white jersey during a 1-1 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle back in 2011.
(Image: SNS Group Jeff Holmes) "Kenny was brilliant,' he said.
"He was under pressure at points during that time, but he never let it faze him. He was a big character, and he just took it in his stride and just kept playing the young players. He trusted in us and we tried to repay him on the pitch.
'He was very hands-on, very demanding. We had a great team at the time. A lot of young players came through and there were lot of senior players as well. We had a good mix, and we had a good season that year.
'We finished fifth, just missed out on Europe. But it was a great season, and he was a great manager to work under. He was hard but fair. He gave a lot of young boys their chance, and I think his motto was, 'If you're good enough, you're old enough.'
'I was grateful that he gave me the chance to go and play. He was an old-school manager who demanded high standards, and if you didn't meet them, you were told about it."
Early exposure to such forthright opinion was good preparation for the young McKenzie to be sent out on loan to Brechin City the following season, a proving ground if ever there was one.
The diminutive winger though took to the challenge with relish, scoring seven goals in his short spell at Glebe Park.
"There was a lot of competition at Killie at that time,' he said.
'You had guys like Garry Hay, Frazer Wright and Manuel Pascali, so you had to be on your game every day in training just to get a sniff of a chance. It was a good grounding for us because you had to work hard for everything.
"In the January of 2012 I was sent out to Brechin and that was a big eye-opener, definitely. It was a lot more physical. It was a great experience though.
'Jim Weir was the manager and there were guys like Craig Nelson, Garry Brady, boys with loads of experience who weren't backwards at coming forwards. It was a good learning curve for me at the time, and it stood me in good stead.
'Then, when I was back at Killie, we had some incredible guys in the changing room too. Garry Hay was a big one, he was brilliant. James Fowler and Gary Harkins were great with me. Craig Samson was a brilliant guy in the changing room as well. So, there was a lot of good senior pros at the time that helped me.
(Image: SNS Group Sammy Turner) "It's actually a bit strange to now be on the other side of it, and I do try to help the young lads here as much as I can and just give them advice and things like that.
"In saying that, the culture's changed a wee bit now. You used to get boots thrown at you and all sorts of things like that, but I don't think you can do that anymore!
'But no, I try and help them as much as I can and pass on my experience."
One of the things that McKenzie attempts to impress upon these younger players today is the importance of using their spare time wisely, and even at the outset of their footballing careers, to have an eye on what comes next.
Just as he did at 22, when he set out to get the law degree that is now safely tucked away for future use.
"My dad was always on at me from a young age to do it,' he said.
'I think when you're young you think you're going to play forever, and you think football's going to last forever. But he just said, 'Look, get them done as soon as you can and then you've always got something to fall back on.'
'So, I'm glad I listened to him now and I got them done at a young age and I've got that all under my belt now.
"I do try and speak to the young guys as much as I can and just tell them, just do something in your spare time, get your badges done or go to college or uni. Just do something to keep your mind occupied because football is a short career and you need something to fall back on."
Not that McKenzie is winding down just yet. He was frustrated last term to start just two games and make 15 appearances overall under former manager Derek McInnes, but is hoping he can show new boss Stuart Kettlewell that he can play a more active role in the coming campaign having extended his deal for another year.
'I feel I've still got a lot to give,' he said.
'I feel fit and strong. I just want to keep playing as long as I can and keep enjoying my football.
'We've got a lot of ambition as a squad and I do too as an individual, and we all want to do well this season."
A change in the dugout is, of course, nothing new to McKenzie. Kettlewell is the 12th Killie manager that he has now played under, too many to list here and to pick through the merits of each of their methods. Which is probably just as well for some.
A few though do deserve an honourable mention.
"I think I've taken a wee bit from every manager I've worked under,' he said.
'They've all got their own styles.
'Mixu (Paatelainen) was brilliant for me right at the start, then Kenny gave me my debut. Allan Johnston, I had a good season under him. And obviously, Steve Clarke was a massive one for the club. We finished third under him.
(Image: SNS Group Roddy Scott) "It's hard to pick one as my favourite. I'll always be grateful to Kenny Shiels for giving me my debut.
'The best I've worked with is probably Steve Clarke. I wasn't always playing under him, but you could come into the team and it would be seamless, everyone would know their job.
'His man-management was brilliant, and his coaching was brilliant. So, they've all been good in their own way, but if you're pushing me then I'll say Steve was the best!'
The paradox that comes with being a one-club man like McKenzie though and being so invested in their fortunes, is that the highs feel all the sweeter, while the lows are particularly crushing.
So it was for him when Killie were relegated to The Championship back in 2021, defeated by Dundee in the play-off final second leg in front of just 500 souls at Rugby Park towards the fag-end of the Covid-19 lockout.
"It was horrible,' he said.
'It was probably the lowest point of my career. You love the club, and I felt like I'd personally let a lot of people down.
"It was such a difficult time, and especially in those circumstances. It just left you feeling empty.
'When you get relegated, it's a horrible feeling. But we knew we had to bounce back straight away. And thankfully we did that the season after.
'That was a massive achievement to get the club back to where it belongs. It was a big pressure on us. Every team wanted to beat us, and we were the big team in the league, which is a different challenge to what we were maybe used to. There was a lot of pressure on us every week to win games.
(Image: SNS Group)'But after a wee bit of a rocky start, I think we dealt with it well. And when Derek (McInnes) came in we managed to turn it around and then just kept that momentum going and got over the line.
'It was a such a relief.'
There hasn't been much missing from McKenzie's career then, though full international honours have evaded him.
He did think though he may be able to fulfil that ambition a few years back, even if it might have been to represent a rather more exotic location than the land of his birth.
'I qualify to play for Trinidad & Tobago,' he said.
"It's through my grandfather on my mum's side. His mum and dad were in the navy, and he was born there, so that's how the link came about. I think it was my dad that looked into it and found out about it.
'We actually went through quite a long process to make it happen. I think it took about a year to get the documents and everything sorted, and Kris Boyd reached out to Marvin Andrews to let them know I was eligible.
'For whatever reason it never happened in the end.'
You feel that representing Kilmarnock, for McKenzie, has been honour enough.
"It'll be quite emotional on Friday, I think,' he said.
'It'll be a great night for me and my family, who have always supported me. And just to have all my friends and family there, it'll be a great occasion.
'There have been a couple of times I could have left Killie, but the move wasn't right for me or my family. I was enjoying my football, so why leave?
'I'm a big believer in the saying, 'What's for you won't go by you', and being able to play for your local team for so long is nothing to be sniffed at.
"I was always happy here. I love the club, I love the people at the club, and it's been a good fit for me and my family."
A one club man - a Killie man - through and through.