LAST WEEK, I was privileged to spend a bit of time with the living legend, Jimmy McIlroy, widely acknowledged as the greatest ever Claret.

The genial Irishman was in great form as we got together.

Jimmy told me: "I came over to Burnley, aged 18, in March 1950. Frank Hill was the manager and I immediately felt at home in the town. I settled in straight away. The people were warm and generous and I think that had a big bearing on me having a successful career.

"I remember standing outside Turf Moor with snow on the ground and an icy cold wind blowing around my ears when Danny Blanchflower, the old Spurs captain and fellow Irish International, said 'How the blazes do you live in a place like this?'

"Maybe that was the secret of our success. Straightaway we had one over on the opposition.

"In the 50's, we played some tremendous derby matches. You know when you go and see a top show and there are always one or two top stars and a super cast behind them, well this was the same? Matthews and Mortensen were at Blackpool, Tom Finney at Preston, Lofthouse and Hopkinson at Bolton, great players who really brought in the crowds.

"When I first established myself, Burnley were a middle of the division side. Played 42 won, lost and drew 14, that kind on thing. But in the second half of the 50's other young players started to force their way through into the first team like Brian Miller, John Angus and Ray Pointer, and then we had as good a team as anything in England."

Unbelievably, to a lot of youngsters who support the team now, Burnley had NINE internationals at the time. Can you imagine that happening to a provincial club like Burnley nowadays? It just shows how football has changed through the decades.

Jimmy adds: "Every team has great spells. When I arrived, Wolves and Spurs were enjoying success and Portsmouth were the Champions in 1950 but Burnley were fast gaining a reputation of finding and developing talented youngsters. It seemed like every trialist would end up being a first team player or even an international. I could look through the junior A and B teams at that time and could identify players who were destined for success."

The supply line seemed endless, a conveyor belt of talent. Nuggets of gold in every area and like anything else, success breeds success. Because of the reputation of the club, the better younger players would write in for trials and wanted to join the club.

The talent spotting and scouting system was second to none and the coaching side was way beyond its time. Young players knew they would be given opportunities in the first team at 17 and 18 years of age. The philosophy of the club was 'If they're good enough they are old enough'. Fathers used to queue up to get their boys into Turf Moor.

Jimmy continued: "It culminated in us winning the Championship in 1959-60. Our last match was at Maine Road 2nd May 1960. in front of a full house of 60,000. I remember the build up to the game. On the Monday morning I was struggling with a thigh strain and Billy Dougall, who was the coach, asked me how it was. In such a big game every player wants to be 100 per cent fit but Billy didn't let me finish, he just said 'whatever it's feeling like, you're still playing'.

"So I had the thigh strapped and just about got through the game. Pilky got the first, Trevor Meredith the second. City got one back but we held on.

"After the game we got back on the coach for the journey home and there seemed to be thousands of people lining the road back to Burnley. I got off at the Rose and Crown because I lived near by and the team went to the Town Hall, but then I got a phone call and we met up later at the Nelson Golf Club to continue the celebrations."

Jimmy roomed with Jimmy Adamson, Brian Miller and Tommy Cummings and when playing for Ireland, Danny Blanchflower.

"Do you remember when Danny should have been on 'This is your Life'?" said Jim "Well I went across to Manchester to record a piece before the show because I couldn't get down to London. I was sitting at a table looking into the camera and I started off by saying " Danny and I have been pals in the Irish team for a long time, in fact, I've slept with him for years" The producer said 'CUT'. He suggested "room-mates" may be a better option!

"I told everyone to watch the TV that night but when a Devon vicar came on I thought I'd got the schedules wrong. What had happened, of course, was that Danny had declined the invitation and had marched out of the theatre refusing to have anything to do with the show"

When Harry Potts told Jimmy that he was on the transfer list it was the worst day of his playing career. At 31 he still had many good seasons in him as a player but seeing Harry in such a state, Jimmy suspected that maybe the decision had been taken higher up.

"My time at Stoke was an altogether different experience to the days at Burnley. Tony Waddington, the manager, was a big believer in experience and the likes of Roy Vernon, Eddie Clamp, Maurice Setters and Peter Dobing were all well into their 30's. So I had arrived from one club whose policy was to always give chances to youngsters, to another where young lads found it virtually impossible to get into the side."

I asked Jimmy how he got involved in journalism.

"After retiring from playing I had spells as coach at Stoke City and manager at Oldham Athletic but the chairman left in difficult circumstances and the other directors, who he had upset, took their frustrations out on me. So I left.

"Nat Lofthouse got in touch and brought me to Bolton. They had a lot of older players in the side at that time and I started bringing through the younger lads like Paul Fletcher from the Reserves.

"It only lasted for a few weeks and we didn't get the results immediately but at least we had 11 players fighting for each other and they were improving.

"I realised after these two experiences at Bolton and Oldham that I wasn't cut out for the management position. Luckily the editor of the Telegraph, which was then the Evening Star, contacted me to come on board. I was a bit nervous at first but I did have a little bit of experience as I did a column for a newspaper when I was a player.

"I remember the editor telling me he wanted me to get involved with the Burnley matches. Keith McNee would do the 90 minutes match report and I would add my comments afterwards. The first Saturday we were preparing to go to Sheffield United and Bob Lord apparently rang the powers that be in the press office and said "If McIlroy writes one word about Burnley don't expect any help from Turf Moor from now on!" He didn't want me to criticise the team. I did spend 10 years, though, at the Telegraph and another 10 at the Burnley Express.

Every so often Jim is invited to the half time draw during first team games. "Sometimes I think that when I'm walking onto the pitch, half of the crowd haven't seen me play. Do you remember Dads Army on the TV? They keep bringing it back and it still brings a smile to people's faces. I feel like one of those guys!"

No matter how many times Jim is invited back to the place he graced so magnificently over 13 seasons, he will always be revered and loved by the faithful Burnley supporters. And maybe the grandads in the crowd will fill in the details of his illustrious career to the younger generations, so they fully recognise the fabulous contribution this genial Irishman brought to the famous Lancashire football club.