Great minds gave me chapter & verse on life as footie boss

MICKY MELLON has tapped into the minds of Walter Smith, David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to give a real insight into management and raise money to fight motor neurone disease.

The Dundee United manager with the help of his friend, school headteacher Phil Denton, has written the book “The First 100 Days: Lessons in Leadership from the Football Bosses”, which will be released by Reach PLC on March 25.

Mellon interviewed top bosses, including Burnley’s Sean Dyche and West Brom’s Sam Allardyce as well as ones from business, before he added his own experiences on how to build foundations for success.

He said: “My book is out soon and it’s to raise money for motor neurone disease.

“It’s not a book about me but one where I have gone out and gathered evidence on how top managers in the game work.

“It has been a two-and-a-half to three-year pilgrimage, if you like, to go and ask the likes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Sean Dyche, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Walter Smith and Joe Royle what was important to them in their success in the first 100 days of taking managerial jobs.

“The knowledge I was able to gather from them was absolutely phenomenal.”

Football management is no longer the long-term job it was but why just the first 100 days?

Mellon said: “An American president gets measured on his first 100 days. They determine how successful he is going to be from that opening period.

“We did Solskjaer’s whole 100 days, it’s all in the book and he actually got offered his job from their American owners on the 100th day of his trial from Molde. They gave him a three-year contract.”

The United boss has already secured hundreds of pre-orders sales, the League Managers Association identifying it as a key tool that can help members.

Mellon said: “It got to a point where I showed it to the LMA in England and they have preordered 600 copies.

“There’s that much stuff they want their members to be able to use from what all these top managers are doing or have

BRAVELY FOUGHT BATTLE WITH MND Ricksen time in recent years. The Terrors manager added: “My friend and former team-mate, Lenny Johnrose, has been diagnosed with motor neurone.

“I have seen the way he is bravely battling it.

“I have seen the cruel way it has taken Jimmy Johnstone and Fernando Ricksen.

“We are also seeing the brave fight of former Scotland rugby player Doddie Weir just now.