IAN Cottrill - so good George Rooney bought him twice - will grace St George's Lane for one last time in his testimonial against Kidderminster Harriers on Monday night.

It will be a fitting send off for a City stalwart who earned his spurs during two spells at the club in which he clocked up 431 appearances to stand sixth in the club's all time list.

Worcester born and bred, Cottrill fulfilled a boyhood ambition by playing for the club though his introduction into the first team at just 17 came as a bolt out of the blue.

"George asked me to turn up for the first pre-season match against Shrewsbury Town but I didn't think I would be playing and couldn't believe it when he threw me in from the start," said Cottrill.

Cottrill had in fact already made a huge impression on Rooney.

"The first time I saw him I made up my mind to play him and I knew he wouldn't be shifted from the side for a long time," said Rooney.

Such was the impact that Cottrill made that when Rooney needed a trouble-shooter at Nuneaton Borough he brought him to Manor Park.

"There were bad apples in that Manor Park dressing room and we needed character in there," said Rooney.

"I said to the board 'I've got just the man' and we paid £5,000 to get Ian and he was a major part of everything we did. His honesty and integrity turned the dressing room round.

"At Worcester the second time round I inherited a similar fragmented dressing room and persuaded Mike Sorensen to fork out £5,000 to get him back."

Four knee operations, including £2,000 forked out of his own pocket in a last-ditch attempt to save his career, eventually took their toll and Cottrill called it a day just before the start of last season.

"He insisted in playing with injuries that would have laid a lot of players low," said Rooney.

"In fact I'm convinced it took a couple of seasons off his career because he would have broken the 500 game mark easily.

"He never let the team down. He was foolhardy in his determination to play - you loved it as a manager - but it caught up with him.

"I'm proud to have been a part of his career because he's been a massive part of mine at two football clubs."

Cottrill scored 57 goals for City - his favourite a 25 yard volley against Burton Albion in the mid 90s.

Career highlights including Southern League Midland Division and Birmingham Senior Cup success with Borough (at the home of his beloved West Brom) and winning the Dr Martens League Cup with City.

City's FA Cup first round clash with Torquay in 1998/99 also sticks out as do the 431 appearances.

"When you are playing the games come thick and fast and you don't think about it. It's only when you stop playing and you realise you are the sixth all time appearance maker and you think 'that's not a bad achievement'," said Cottrill. Not bad indeed!