Harry Worrall has no plans to hang up his whistle after reaching milestone

The 78-year-old from Deansfield has been honoured by the Wolverhampton Referees' Association for 50 years sterling service and is determined to add a few more seasons to his tally.

Football League official Ray Olivier checked in at The Clarendon to present the award as Worrall joined Alex Hamil and John Kyte in an exclusive club with 50 years under their belts.

And Worrall is still going strong. He can be found calling the shots from in the middle or chugging up and down touchlines across the Black Country in the Midland Junior League, Wolverhampton Sunday League and Bilston Youth Partnership.

And the 'old school' virtues are still very much on display.

While some modern-day refs relish being in the spotlight, Worrall has always been happy to go unnoticed.

A quiet word here and there and a relaxed approach have served him well over the years, and helps ensure respect on both sides.

"I have really enjoyed it, and still do.That's why I carry on," said Worrall.

"I am not as fit as I used to be, but I still get around and I have a lot of experience.

"I have had a bit of stick at times, but nothing major. It's all about man-management and how you talk to the players.

"You see the refs on the telly pointing their fingers and shouting 'come here' to the players. I never did that.

"I have a quiet word and talk to them in the right manner and sort things out. You have to talk to them properly to get their respect.

"I hadn't used to dish many cards out, in fact I haven't shown anyone a card for 20 years. The good refs are the ones that you don't notice."

Worrall first got the refereeing bug in English football's golden year, 1966, when he swapped playing for officiating.

"I used to play for Star Aluminium in the Wolverhampton Works League," he said. "I played at right-back and then ended up in goal!

"Someone mentioned that the league were struggling for referees, so I went along and took the course.

"Within three seasons I had got my Class One, which was the top rank.

"I have really enjoyed it and made some really good friends over the years.

"My only regret is that I didn't start at an earlier age. Who knows, I might have got to the very top if I had done?

"I intend to carry on as long as I can. I still think I have another two or three seasons left. As long as I can get up and down the pitch, I will carry on."

Worrall has plenty to be proud of during his whistle-blowing days with a day out at Wembley one of the many highlights, while he also caught an early glimpse of a talented youngster by the name of Wayne Rooney.

"I referred the final of a Coca Cola Tournament at Wembley, but I can't remember the teams," said Worrall, who also officiated in a girls tournament in Minnesota as well as numerous local league finals.

"But I can remember taking charge of an England Schools game between Wolverhampton and Liverpool and Wayne Rooney played for Liverpool.

"I checked the name after the game because he played really well and looked a very good player.

"I refereed a Central League game at Wolves and Steve Bull played.

"He was facing a ban so he had a run out for the reserves against Peterborough and scored five times.

"I have had a laugh with him about that a few times over the years, he said it was the only time he scored five goals in a game.

"I was also the ref for former Wolves defender Frank Munro's testimonial."

Worrall is also a well-known figure around Molineux where he used to help in Wolves' press office on match-days.

"They used to call me Uncle Fester because I wore a big, long black coat," he joked.

Not surprisingly Wolverhampton's most famous official Jack Taylor, who took charge of the 1974 World Cup final between West Germany and Holland, tops Worrall's list of best refs with another local ex-Football League man, Hamil, not far behind.

"I ran the line in a game once with Alex Hamil on the opposite side and Jack Taylor in the middle," said Worrall. "Jack was the best referee I have ever seen, number one for me.

"I got to know him quite well and he was a really nice, down to earth bloke. I still haven't seen a better ref than him.

"Alex was very good too, he had the players' respect and treated them with respect too"

Of the modern day officials, Andre Marriner gets a nod of approval from Worrall, but he is not too complimentary towards the pundits who sit in the studio.

"I do feel for the refs these days with everything being so analysed," added Worrall. "The pundits annoy me because they sit their in the studio and watch an incident over and over again from different camera angles and then slaughter the ref.

"The ref only has a split-second to make a decision. People should have a go themselves and then they would realise just how difficult a job it is."

Worrall joins Hamil and Kyte as the exclusive members of the Wolverhampton Referees' Association's 50 club and is proud to be part of an elite group.

"It's a real honour to receive the award," he said. "And I am proud to be a member of the Wolverhampton RA, it's the biggest and best in the country with over 140 members.

"Quite a few family members were their to see me receive my award and Ray Olivier was brilliant. It was a nice night and a bit emotional."

WRA chairman Phil Reade was full of praise for his colleague's achievement.

"Harry is well liked by us all and what he has done is marvellous achievement," said Reade. "Ray Olivier said when he was on duty at Molineux, Harry always looked after him.

"It's unbelievable to still be refereeing at 78. He is one of those refs that says get on with it, it's a man's game. He used to man manage people really well."