THE temptation would have been there for Kris Boyd to play on.

Gordon Smith is surprised he didn’t. But he can understand why the striker has chosen to retire on a high after hanging up his boots.

Kilmarnock paid tribute to their club captain and ‘legendary’ forward on Tuesday morning as it was confirmed that Boyd will quit the game after a glittering career.

Boyd won two league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups with Rangers and scored in the final of both cup competitions.

At international level, he would score seven times for his country and lift the Kirin Cup in 2006.

But a late appearance off the bench in the win over Hibernian in May will be the final minutes of his career.

It is one that former Rangers and Killie striker Smith believes should be fondly remembered.

“I thought Kris could have played on,” Smith said. “He is at the Premiership level and not getting a game, so he could have dropped down a level to keep playing.

“I think he is in a scenario that he has established himself as a pundit and that’s why he has maybe thought it is the right time to go.

“If he did go to another level that wasn’t the top flight, some people might think it could take away from his credibility as a pundit.

“Now he bows up at the top of his career instead of dropping down the divisions. He has had a really good career, there is no doubt about it.

“He is a goalscorer and he has always been a natural. He is always in the right position and there aren’t too many players like that.

“You can’t coach what he has, it is just natural. Ally McCoist was the same in that he was always in the right place at the right time. Kris anticipated how the goalkeeper would save it so he could get the rebound, and not all the players can naturally do that.

“His record was very good throughout his career. He will go down in the history books as the SPL’s top scorer and no one will ever be able to take that away from him.”

It was at Kilmarnock where Boyd forged a reputation, but at Rangers where he really made his name as he took his place in the record books.

There was an understandable disappointment at a lack of chances on the international stage but Boyd took his talents to Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Eskisehirspor and Portland Timbers. He also had two further spells either side of a second stint at Rangers.

His final season at Rugby Park will go down as one of his most memorable as Steve Clarke’s side finished third in the Premiership and clinched a Europa League qualifying berth.

And Smith knows the Ayrshire crowd will forever be thankful for his efforts in blue and white.

He said: “I think people judged him on his work-rate at international level.

“When he was Rangers he didn’t play in a lot of the big away games. For Scotland, we tended to play one up front and others were preferred to Kris. He was great the times we played 4-4-2, because he had a strike partner doing the work and he could just put the ball in the net.

“I don’t think he was a natural playing one up front. But he got 18 caps more than I got.

“I think people will look back on his career in about ten years’ time and realise just how good he was.

“There was a season a few years back during his second spell at Killie when he almost kept them up himself. His goals were crucial, where he was equalising to get them a point or scoring the winner.

“He brought them a lot of points and the Kilmarnock fans will remember him as a top player. He got sold to Rangers and he made them good money as a club too.”

Having found his opportunities for regular match action limited last term, it always seemed likely that Boyd would move on from Kilmarnock once again this summer.

The 35-year-old could easily have dropped down the levels and made a contribution to another team but there will be no more goals and no more games now.

There will also be no move into coaching or management for Boyd.

The charity in his name will take up some of his time, while he will continue to forge a career for himself as a pundit after becoming a regular feature on television screens and in newspapers in recent years.

Smith said: “He can look back on a fantastic career. The one thing that cost him was maybe his natural fitness. I know he has had a bit of stick about that which he laughs off, but if he had worked on that he could have maybe kept going.

“He isn’t the type of boy who would want to sit on the bench and watch games - he wants to be involved. He had to play games to keep himself sharp.

“When you saw him on the bench at the end of last season, he didn’t look happy.

“No player wants to not be playing. When you have had a career like his, being a regular starter, you don’t want to be missing out.

“He has decided this is the time to say goodbye and he will get a lot of respect for that. People will look back and say he had a fantastic career.

“When you give up playing it is difficult at times to adjust and what are you going to do now. He has a second career underway and that will help him.

“He has something he can go to right away and still be involved in the game. If he didn’t have the media side of things it could have been more difficult to walk away.”

*Gordon Smith was speaking to promote a charity game at Airdrie’s Penny Cars stadium this weekend.

Ex-pros like Marvin Andrews, Owen Coyle, Alex Neil, Jose Quitongo, Graeme Smith, Marvyn Wilson and Sandy Stewart will join a host of celebrities in a charity match in aid of the Airdrie Community Trust this Saturday at 1pm.

Tickets are on sale now – priced £10 for adults and £5 for kids - at the stadium, online at www.therossowenshow.com/charity-football-match and pay at the gate on matchday.