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Jim Levack, who has covered Brentford for the 20 years Kevin O’Connor has been at the club, pays tribute to a devoted one club man.

So, the day we’ve all been dreading but knew was coming has finally arrived.

Kevin O’Connor, as Brentford as Peter Gilham and loyal to the core, has hung up his boots.

But, importantly, the new-look set up, with Rasmus and Marinus at its heart, has decided that he is very much a part of the club’s plans going forward.

And that, in an instant, gave me hope that the very essence of the club we all love is still very much alive and well despite all the recent upheaval.

Rasmus, in a heartfelt welcome to the coaching ranks, said: “He is the perfect person to inform the new coaching staff about what sort of club Brentford is if they need it.”

Humility, awareness and realism all rolled into one… maybe the future coaching scenario won’t be such a quantum leap after all.

Kevin will now be well aware that he has a critical role in the future of the club as an anchor to the past and a springboard to the future.

And we should all count ourselves extraordinarily lucky that we have such a model professional and honest, down to earth bloke to fulfil that role.

Sure, some clubs will have the equivalent of King Kev, but he is ours… the kind of player we all looked up to and admired for his honest endeavour and one club mentality.

O’Connor was the kind of player who’d always be first on the team sheet.

You knew what you’d get from him. He wasn’t a game changer but was the kind of player who allowed the game changers to change games.

At his best just in front of the back four, he’d break up play effortlessly and then give the ball simple to someone who could turn defence into attack more effectively.

He knew his strengths and he knew his limitations, and his reading of the game made up for any shortage of blistering pace to always be in the right place at the right time, Uncanny.

There were occasions when I’d watch him solidly for 10 or 15 minutes, and his positional awareness was incredible always seeming to work his way into areas where the ball would drop loose several minutes later.

As the game became more obsessed with statistics – something we are now embracing to what, I’m sure, will be impressive effect – he was always an 8 or 9 with the best pass completion of them all.

Nicknamed Shearer in his early days at the club, he was a play anywhere, do anything kind of footballer with an eye for goal and a shrewd tactical awareness of the game that only comes with experience.

Just as importantly he was – is – a thoroughly nice bloke who is as passionate about his club as the fans who will always worship him.

When decisions have gone against us in key games this season and the blood has boiled, I’ve been heartened to see Kev in the face of the match officials at full time. Deep down he’s a fan who has struck gold.

Down the years there have been many nice guys who have worn the Brentford shirt, but in my career as a journalist covering the club, few have come anywhere near Kevin O’Connor in ticking all the boxes of what a footballer should be.

My sons both idolise him just as Chelsea fans worship at the altar of Didier, because he epitomises what matters to every true Brentford fan… loyalty, dedication and devotion – all attributes that, sadly, don’t feature too much in the modern game.

Unlike Drogba and the embarrassing episode as he was chaired off in his farewell game, that’s not the style of Kev O’Connor. He’s the type who will move quietly on to the next phase of his career without a fuss – just like he played the game.

As a player I don’t think we will ever see his like again… so it’s just as well that he’s now knitted into the very fabric of our club.

Thank you Kev for all the memories. Now let the next chapter begin.

Jim Levack