"I've just taken it on as a challenge to see how long I can keep going for through to the end of the season."
It goes without saying McIvor put himself in the cross-examination box several times leading up to his decision as to whether not only the body but also the mind was going to play ball.
"That's been the biggest challenge - fully preparing for the game with the speed so you can't just switch off any time."
To his relief, that mental fortitude hasn't deserted him.
It helped that McIvor was physically preparing with some running regardless of what his playing intentions were coming into winter as part of a general fitness regime as he gets older.
"I'm always in reasonable good shape. I guess probably the one thing you're always concerned about is speed. Obviously as you get older it slowly slips away from you."
Ask him how is his speed and McIvor laughs. The Badminton New Zealand programme developer, based at Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, puts it down to a mixed bag.
"You don't want to get caught one-on-one with some of the younger guys because it can get a bit tricky once I try getting off the mark.
"I've come up against a couple of young guys who have certainly put me in my place."
Blues player/coach Bill Robertson sees McIvor's presence in the engine room as something that transcends the physical demands of stoking the fire at the height of contention.
"I guess my key role is to provide some leadership and provide some aggression with the little battles around the field to [dictate] play so it's nothing too fancy.
"I've kind of come to understand that now because that's been a kind of shift as in the past I've been in a striking role and all the fanfare with that."
He doesn't feel like he's babysitting in a youthful Rovers outfit trying to come to grips with what is required at the Central League level to be competitive.
"It's a just a more motivating, driving type of role so they'll get it [the concept] because they are getting it every week."
McIvor has scored two goals (one against Miramar Rangers and another last Sunday against Team Taranaki) so the killer instinct required to deposit the ball into the net still lurks in the psyche.
"I think it's not really my goal to score or to get too far forward but a couple of times I have just kind of taken the liberty to get into some areas and it's paid off but it's certainly not the focus."
In many respects it's asking a bloke to change a lifetime's habit, ingrained in the system where such excursions will go down in games as lapses when he finds himself straying from his position.
Wife Jess and two daughters, Scarlett, 7, and Cilla, 2, have taken his sporadic absences in their stride.
"Jess has been a huge support for me in having another little foray."
McIvor has won the now defunct winter National League crowns with the Rovers in 1997-98, when he was under coach Mick Waite but didn't get too many minutes, as well as the league and Chatham Cup (national knockout) double in 2000 under coach Matt Chandler.
Losing in the 2002 National League final to Miramar Rangers is something he has tried, unsuccessfully, to erase from his memory bank.
While league defending champions Olympic are in fourth place, McIvor emphasises the Greeks bring a level of intensity that doesn't waver season after season.
"You just get passion. It'll be a highly competitive game and we just need to make sure we take care of what we call moments in game, such as when the ball comes to the box you deal with it throughout the match.
"We have to do that because it's something I don't think we've done much of through to 90 minutes," he says, stressing it'll be more pertinent tomorrow than it was in the 4-1 victory over Team Taranaki last weekend.
McIvor says the battle between the Blues and Olympic go back to some classic tussles.
Winning is always on the agenda for the eighth-placed Rovers but he says the expectations have been tempered this winter to focus on rebuilding as well.
"Often when rebuilding is going on people don't want to muck to help so to me that's more important than anything else right now."
BOTH TEAMS
■ NAPIER CITY ROVERS: Ruben Parker Hanks (GK), 2 Blake Koolen, 5 Matt Bruin, 6 Oliver Coren, 7 Jean-Michel Paulin, 8 Chris McIvor, 9 Angus Kilkolly, 10 Fahad Rwakarambwe, 12 Ethan Ladd, 14 Josh Stevenson (vc), 15 James Hoyle, 16 Danny Wilson, 17 Fergus Neil (c), 18 Ross Willox, 20 Charlie Yexley, Kyle Baxter (RGK).
Coach: Bill Robertson.
Ast coach: Jim Neil.
■ MIRAMAR RANGERS: 1 Scott Basalaj (GK), 2 Federico Cruz, 4 Jacob Masseurs, 5 Blake Weston, 6 Gonzalo Amado, 7 Daniel Mulholland, 8 Kieran Patterson, 9 Gianni Bouzoukis, 10 Luis Corralles, 11 Sam Blackburn, 13 Chas Lawrence, 15 Dylan Wood, 16 Alex Palezevic, 19 Cristian Baz, 20 Mario Barcia.
Coach: Stu Jacobs.
Ast coach: Guillermo Schiltenwolf.
