Alan Farquhar’s service to Wick Academy will be celebrated tomorrow with a testimonial match and dinner.
The Scorries captain has spent 14 years at Harmsworth Park, making 357 appearances in that time.
There have been plenty of highlights for the defender during that period and he is honoured to receive a testimonial.
An Alan Farquhar select will face an SPL legends team at Harmsworth Park at 3pm tomorrow before a dinner at the Norseman Hotel in the evening.
The 35-year-old said: “It’s been great, the committee has been brilliant and I’m really thankful.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time playing for Wick and appreciate the support I’ve received.
“The biggest thing for me about playing for Wick is the friends I’ve made over the years.
Another Old Firm Legend looking forward to Alan's big day on Saturday. This time on the green side of Glasgow from Celtic Legend, Alan Thompson! @Alantommo8 ⚽️🥅⚽️ pic.twitter.com/k20Yqf7oAB
— Al Fraq Testimonial (@FraqTestimonial) May 15, 2023
“When I started playing I knew who a lot of guys were, but then once you play together you end up becoming really good friends and going out together and things like that.
“In terms of on the pitch, the North of Scotland Cup win in 2015 would be the highlight, along with 2012-13 when we won all our home games in league – which was part of a run of being undefeated at Harmsworth Park for a year-and-a-half.
“That was a really good achievement and we were within four points of winning the league.”
Old faces return
Farquhar’s select side will feature a mixture of current and former Wick players with the likes of Gary Weir, Craig Shearer, Sam Mackay and Grant Campbell set to pull the boots on again.
The SPL legends will include Gregory Vignal, Marvin Andrews, Rudi Vata, Bobby Petta, Alan Thompson, Charlie Miller, Andy McLaren, Robbie Winters and Gordon Durie.
Farquhar added: “I’m delighted that we’ve managed to get a team like that coming up to play in the game.
“For my team, it was really hard to choose, and to start with I had too big a squad.”
Looking to future, Farquhar revealed his focus is likely to be more on coaching than playing, with a knee injury suffered a couple of years ago limiting his appearances in the last two seasons.
Farquhar said: “I’m still going to be a signed player next season, but I’ve joined Gary Manson’s management team so I’ll be focusing more on that.
“But I’ll still be involved in training and keep myself ticking over.
“If I feel good training then I’ll still be keen to play, but I’m trying to focus more on the coaching side.
“With the wear and tear in my knee, I’ll need to slow down a bit.
“You always think you can help, but sometimes the mind is a couple of steps ahead of the body.”
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