BOSS OUT IN 1 WEEK
I enraged Walter so badly it finished my Gers career and we’ve barely spoken since, so I’ve one piece of advice for dithering SFA...
BELEAGUERED blazers at the SFA were thrown into fresh turmoil yesterday when the man they selected as a stand-in for Stewart Regan quit after less than a week in the post.
Andrew McKinlay dropped a bombshell resignation on the boardroom yesterday morning as president Alan McRae and vice-president Rod Petrie were still reeling from the news they may have botched their bid to land Walter Smith as the new Scotland manager.
Record Sport understands McKinlay had spent the last few weeks mulling over a job offer to
THERE’S one bit of advice I would like to offer the SFA this morning in their dealings with Walter Smith – whatever you do, don’t p*** him off.
I did it once and it finished my Rangers career for good.
That whole Boozegate disaster was almost eight years ago now and we’ve hardly spoken a word to each other ever since. But I don’t hold a grudge.
On the contrary, the way he dealt with me after I had let him down so badly is exactly why the men in charge ought to be bending over backwards and pleading with him to take the job for a second time.
I knew almost from the moment I made those idiotic gestures on the Scotland bench that I had crossed a line where Walter was concerned.
I placed him in a position where he had to do what he felt was right for Rangers. It was entirely my own fault and I fully respected him for what came next.
If I was in any doubt about how serious the situation was I was soon put right later that night by the phone call that effectively ended my time at the club. Walter was on the other end of the line and he almost blew my eardrum out.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew then I was going into Murray Park in the morning to be told my time was up. I had crossed the line with Walter and when you do that, there is no way back.
So I’m crossing my fingers this morning and hoping against hope the SFA haven’t managed to do the same thing. Because if they’ve p **** d him off as badly as I did there’s absolutely no chance of him agreeing to ride to the country’s rescue.
And that would be the blunder to end them all from an organisation that’s made a habit of getting things wrong over the years. First of all they shouldn’t even be looking for a new manager at this moment in time because the decision to get rid of Gordon Strachan after he’d gone a calendar year without suffering a single defeat was nothing short of crazy.
Strachan had the respect of the players and you could see it every time they stepped on to the pitch. They were busting a gut for him and, together, everything was moving in the right direction.
With younger players like John McGinn and Callum McGregor now ready to be integrated into the next campaign, I’m positive Strachan would have had us right in the mix for Euro 2020.
So that was mistake No.1 right there. They made an absolute a*** of it.
Mistake No.2 was failing so spectacularly to make Michael O’Neill his replacement. To be honest, I’d rather we’d gone for a Scot in the first case but there is no denying O’Neill did a fantastic job with Northern Ireland so I was willing to go along with the idea.
But to go after him so publicly then fail to get their man? That was embarrassing not just for the SFA but for all of Scottish football and every member of the Tartan Army.
When Stewart Regan lost his job over the whole sorry situation it turned into a full blown crisis. So when suddenly, from nowhere, Walter’s name dropped into their laps it felt to me as if all their prayers had been answered.
They hadn’t even considered him up to that point as they had assumed, like I did, he was very happily retired.
He’s spent the last few years spending time with his grandkids and doing all the things that retired people do.
So why on earth would he think about jumping back into the frying pan?
But the more I thought about it, the more it made perfect sense.
The SFA need an experienced man to take hold of this situation and a manager with a proven track record. Well, records do not get any more proven than this one.
I know people question his age and say it would be moving backwards but that’s not how I see it and I think I speak for most of the players in the Scotland set-up, if not all of them.
Let me tell you something, they would love playing for Walter no matter what age he is because you’re talking here about one of our game’s true legends.
And forget all this stuff I’m hearing from fans who say he’s too much of a throwback. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
When Walter was in charge last time he hand-picked two
younger coaches in the late, great Tommy Burns and Ally McCoist. They were his eyes and ears on the training ground. While they were taking training Walter would take a step back and let them get on with it.
It was only when matchday was approaching that he would make his presence felt. And when he spoke you could hear a pin drop in that dressing room.
Every player went on to the pitch knowing exactly what their individual jobs were and what they were being asked to carry out. That’s Walter’s greatest skill as a manager – his ability to get his message across in very simple terms. We knew our roles inside out and we got results because of it.
So, yes, the more I thought about it the more I realised what a Godsend this was for the SFA to know that a man of that calibre would be willing to talk. Talk about striking it lucky – they hit the absolute jackpot.
Which brings us on to mistake No.3. When a manager like Walter Smith suddenly makes himself available, you run through brick walls to make it happen. But it looks very much as if they’ve been hiding under the desks instead, completely unable to make the most of this stroke of good luck. No wonder Walter has been starting to lose his patience with them because they contacted him in the first place. It wasn’t the other way round. But according to what I read in the Record yesterday, they asked Malky Mackay to make the call on Thursday of last week, so it’s beyond belief that they’ve still not arranged a meeting with the man. In fact, it’s worse than that. It’s insulting to him. And I of all people know what happens when you cross that particular line.
But here’s the thing about Walter. Despite everything that happened he let me make one final start for Rangers at the end of that season in the Scottish Cup Final.
He allowed me to leave with one last memory of winning a trophy at Hampden.
That’s another reason why I have nothing but total respect for the man and why I hope the SFA can talk him around.
The biggest ace they have up their sleeve is the group of players Strachan has left behind. Working with that group would be an exciting proposition for any manager.
And it might even be exciting enough for Walter to be lured back, despite the way this has been handled by the SFA.
But if they can’t do that then I’d have one last piece of advice for them. Pick up the phone to Alex McLeish and when the conversation starts make sure you don’t make the same mistakes all over again.
I had crossed the line with Walter and when you do that there’s no way back