Paul Wright at Kilmarnock: Blue, white, dynamite
A club record signing who overcame a bad start to become a Killie legend - we look back on the Scottish Cup hero
It’s a well-worn fact that Kilmarnock haven’t been to the Scottish Cup semi-finals since winning the competition all the way back in 1997.
With a trip to face Celtic looming next weekend few expect that to change.
As Derek McInnes’ side take the weekend off, we’ve gone into the archives for a look at the man who last delivered the trophy to Ayrshire - Paul Wright.
Still Killie’s record signing, he overcame a tough start to life at Rugby Park to write himself into the history books and ensure his name will be spoken for decades to come.
He’s blue, he’s white, he’s f*****g dynamite - this is the story of the man they called ‘Bunion’.
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With Killie struggling for goals as they battled against the drop in 1994-95, manager Alex Totten knew he needed to add a striker.
He said following the 2-0 win over Motherwell in January: “I’m a great believer in getting the spine of the team right, Bill Shankly always preached that at Liverpool.
“We need some extra power in attack and I’ve made a lot of enquiries.”
The manager had worked with Wright at St Johnstone and with the transfer deadline looming in late March he paid a club record £340,000 to bring him to Rugby Park.
A knee injury and a lack of trust from manager Paul Sturrock had seen ‘Bunion’ out of favour in Perth, with just eight appearances to his name all season.
“My career was going nowhere,” Wright admitted after signing. “Paul Sturrock has his ideas, his systems and things just weren’t working out for me.
“That’s all behind me now, I’m back with my old gaffer, it’s a fresh challenge and I could not be happier.”
Kilmarnock had just spent millions redeveloping Rugby Park, and it appeared initially as if there’d be nothing left in the bank to bring Wright to Ayrshire.
Chairman Bob Fleeting admitted he initially said no to Totten’s request, only for vice-chairman Jim Moffat to personally cut a cheque.
The record fee meant more than £1m had been spent on Wright throughout his career, the striker breaking through at Aberdeen before spells with Queens Park Rangers - where he scored twice in a 3-2 win over Liverpool - and Hibs.
Having made his debut away at the Dons on April 1, Wright provided an assist on his home debut, a 3-2 win over Hearts.
A 0-0 draw with Partick Thistle on April 29 secured safety with two games to spare, and the record signing got his first goal for the club in a final day defeat to Hibs, heading home a Steve Maskrey corner.
Given the price tag he’d arrived with though there was a lot of expectation on Wright, and he initially struggled to deliver.
The 1995-96 campaign started with five league defeats in a row, with the striker’s only goal coming in a 3-1 League Cup loss to Dundee.
Wright became a target for booing from the stands, admitting ahead of a defeat to Motherwell he hadn’t been good enough.
He told the Daily Record: “The fans are going to judge me on the goals I score and two in 12 games is not good enough.
“But I made a similar start at St Johnstone and turned things around there. I can do the same at Killie.”
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