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Brad Lyons lifts lid on Josh Magennis Kilmarnock insight

Josh Magennis – a blast from the past and a name who will divide opinion among Kilmarnock fans to this day.

When speaking to Brad Lyons fairly recently about winning his second cap for Northern Ireland in a 5-0 win over Bulgaria, I mentioned to him that Magennis was on the scoresheet.

A broad smile beamed from the 27-year-old's face.

“Josh and I were sitting having a coffee one night chatting about his time at Kilmarnock,” Lyons revealed.

As was mentioned by Monty on one of the latest Forever and Ever episodes, it does sometimes cross my mind just how often former players think about their time in Ayrshire, and what it meant to them at that point in their life.

With 20 goals and 17 assists in 84 games, it seems reasonable to think that Magennis – now 34 and turning out for Exeter City in League One - would feel positive and have happy memories from playing for Killie, despite some rather dismal times on and off the park under Gary Locke circa 2015.

Lyons insists that is the case, as he opened up about a conversation he had with his international teammate and one of their big common grounds.

“He has really good memories of being here, he said it was one of the best clubs he’s been at,” he added. “I was chatting about Rory McKenzie with him. He had so many good words to say about the club and his time here.

“We had that positive season in fourth but you can’t forget the season before or before that when we were in the Championship then fighting a relegation battle.

“You have to come through tough times to enjoy the good times. Josh said he loved every minute, although said it was stressful at times.

“But all good memories from his side and my side. Josh got a move down south.

“The goals he scored here, I’ve seen him scoring down south and even training and playing with him, he’s still got the finishing instinct in him.

“There are not many teams in the Scottish Premiership. So if it’s you playing well then you can be highlighted straight away.

“Playing for your national team helps too, I think you can see that with how David Watson is being talked about.

“It’s a great league, at times under-rated. Come and watch it and you see the quality that we have here.”

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