Martin Off the Ball

Martin Hardie was a guest on Off the Ball with Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan

Martin Hardie was a guest on BBC Scotland's Off the Ball on Saturday and during the two hours of good humoured banter, the newly crowned Pars Legend confirmed that he had signed with Dunfermline for season 2011-12. He felt that the Club would be a good thing for the SPL because of the way Jim McIntyre and Gerry McCabe have got the team playing football with two wingers and two up front.

"We were the best team in the First Division and we were attacking teams constantly which proved at the end of the season we won the league. We might need to tweak that slightly when we come against the top four teams but when we come against the others I'm sure Jim and Gerry will keep the same philosophy of trying to get the ball wide and get crosses into the box, attacking teams especially at home."

What would that mean in the SPL?

"The more the season goes on the more you know what players are going to play against you. From that aspect you know which teams are going to give you a hard game and you know which teams you are going to play against. That can bring dividends in terms of trying to get three points."

The 35 year old's legendary status was secured with his two goals against in what turned out to be a title clincher in the 2-1 victory over Raith Rovers on 23rd April. He will forever be remembered for those second half strikes but he recalls that game for how it demonstrated the tremendous support that turn out at East End Park to support Dunfermline.

"We saw 11,000 there against Raith Rovers and I hope that there can be the same attendance for the games next season in the SPL."

All this follows a career threatening cruciate injury which he expanded upon:-

"I went through a two part operation; the first operation I got was to put a pin in my left knee - that was when I was in the first time I was on this show on crutches. At that time I lost a lot of weight that I have not regained. The second time when I got rid of the crutches after my cruciate surgery and it was game on.

"As I was going through my cruciate rehab I was so determined and put in a lot of hard work thanks to the physio at Kilmarnock who looked after me. I got back strong enough to compete at the highest level that I could possibly play at. At that point in time Derek McInnes asked how long I was going to be. When I got back on the training field it was a relief to got back out with your boots on in the sunshine rather than be stuck in a gymnasium. It's a hard process and even to play a friendly was good. The first friendly was when I came on in the second half at Murray Park."

Martin then went to Firhill on loan:-

"When at Partick Thistle I suffered a mishap when part of my right knee was a bit weaker. I was playing against Dundee when only twenty minutes into the game I jumped up for a header and I heard a pop. I thought 'what's happening here?' and I was quite frightened.

"A lot of people probably thought 'that's him finished now' but luckily enough the surgeon who did my knee surgery, Bill Leach in the Western General in Glasgow assured me I'd only be out for six to eight weeks. The only disappointing thing for me was that it curtailed my time at St Johnstone because I never played a competitive game in a full calendar year."

The BBC Radio Scotland show picked up that Martin was born on 22 April 1976 in Alexandria and how there had been claims that the Mad Mental man should have been called up for Egypt.

Mad Mental has been sent off eleven times while playing at East Stirling, Partick Thistle and St Johnstone in addition to a friendly when playing for Partick Thistle against Portadown.

Tam Cowan thought that visiting fans would welcome the Pars back to the SPL because of the availability of Stephens famous Steak Bridies at East End Park. He described them as the size of a "skate board".

Another revelation Martin Hardie came up with was that his mother works in hospitality within the Jock Stein Suite at Celtic Park on match days. She has been involved there for the last 17 years and according to Martin, his mother's strength surround her ability to talk! What will she say if Martin hits one of his specials into the Celtic net?