I made mistakes at Celtic because I was a rookie manager
LIAM BRADY was the first Celtic manager not to have previously played for the club, and the first in over a hundred years to have no experience of management.
It was the latter detail which caught him out.
Appointed in June 1991, Brady resigned in October 1993, without a trophy. Few tears were shed by fans at his voluntary departure, although the football played was generally pleasing to the eye.
‘When I look back, maybe I should have served my time somewhere, been a No2 and learned the ropes,’ Brady said, ‘because nothing prepares you for management if you go in straight from being a footballer.
‘I had a year out (of football) and then I was in (again) at Celtic. That was a very difficult job at the time. They weren’t the same powerhouse as Rangers.
‘In fact, there was an enormous difference in resources.
‘But I made mistakes because I was a rookie manager.’
Finishing third in the shallow pool of Scottish football doesn’t cut it, nor does getting to domestic Cup semi-finals, and Brady knew it, even if money was tight.
There was also a Euro embarrassment against Neuchatel Xamax.
He later reflected: ‘If I’ve made excuses with regard to how difficult it was with the board then I have to admit that my signings didn’t really come off, and on the pitch is where I failed.’
Within two months of leaving Celtic, Brady was appointed manager of Brighton, who were struggling in the old Second Division.
Looking back, he doesn’t judge his two years there as harshly as he did at Celtic.
‘Brighton wasn’t a great choice either, although I feel I did a really good job at Brighton because they were dead and buried at the time.
‘I kind of galvanised the club again, got the fans back. I got the team from being second from bottom to finish half-way. I thought I regained some credibility there.
‘That was a basket case Brighton, the club very nearly went out of business.
‘It’s great to see where they are now,’ said Brady, who lives nearby in Hove.
‘After that (Brighton) I was thinking I don’t want to be a manager any more and was kind of wondering what to do.
‘I went to see David Dein, one of the directors at Arsenal and asked him about creating an ex-players association.
‘All clubs really should look after ex-players, and do something for players who fell on hard times.
‘He said “Yeah, we want to do that but we want to get our youth system back to what it was at one time. There’s a job coming up”.
‘I’ve had a few downs but I’ve had an awful lot of luck as well. That was a break for me,’ he recalled.
The Dubliner returned to Arsenal for 19 years, 17 as head of youth development and academy director, followed by two as a club ambassador.
When Brady finally became a No2, in 2008, it was for a manager he held in high esteem, Giovanni Trapattoni, as he found himself back involved with the Republic of Ireland.
The legendary Italian was a long shot on the FAI radar before Brady made his sales pitch, in person, in Salzburg.
‘Out of the blue, I got this call from Don (Givens) and he said, ‘Trap’s come up, what do you think?’ I said “Get him. If you can, get him”.
‘He was in Austria, with Salzburg. I went over with Don. We met him. He listened to what we said and what we talked about.
‘I THOUGHT THAT I GOT BACK SOME CREDIBILITY AT BRIGHTON’
‘I got a call from him about a week later and he said “You really think I should take this?”
‘And I said, “Take it. We have the players. You’ll get them organised. And everything will be alright. And he took it”. He was a proper professional.’
Under Trap, Ireland were unbeaten in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and were only denied a penalty shootout for a crack at the finals by Thierry Henry’s act of thievery in Paris.
‘I really enjoyed it, working with those smashing lads.
‘It was a good team. Given, Duff, Keane, Dunne, Trap got the best out of them, I felt.
‘They bought into what Trap created, a bit like Jack’s team that went to Euro ’88 and the World Cup. We were a very talented team but also had a great spirit. You have those two together, you can get results.’
Brady stepped down in April 2010, due to his Arsenal commitments but was delighted that Trap, and his former Juventus team-mate, Marco Tardelli, took Ireland to the 2012 Euro finals.
‘We had the worst possible draw in those Euros. Italy and Spain got to the final, and Croatia were unlucky to get out of the group.’