McCall over the moon to be back in the thick of it

RANGERS After experiencing the managerial merry-go-round, Ibrox

LIFE on the managerial merry-go-round is a fulfilling yet testing experience. For Stuart McCall, life on the road just didn’t come close.

Out of work and out of the game, McCall would spend his time travelling to matches with long-time assistant Kenny Black as they kept their hand in at arm’s length. There was nothing at stake, no points and no pressure.

Sacked by Bradford City in February this year, McCall had become one of the scores of managers that were waiting for an opportunity to arise and for the phone to ring. One day, it did.

“After not getting back in in the summer, you expect to get to September time and then opportunities come up,” McCall, the new boss at League One Scunthorpe United, told SportTimes.

“But there are a lot of managers out of work down here, and up in Scotland. Not only does a job have to come up, you have to go and prove you are the one the club can trust.

“It came out of the blue in the fact that it was only four games into the season. Nick Daws left on the Friday and the chairman, who I had never spoken to before, spoke to me on the Friday night and almost offered me the job on the Sunday. It was good that he made his mind up that he wanted me and Kenny to come in.”

With that, McCall had returned to where he always wanted to be – on the training pitch and in the dugout – and has been tasked with transforming the Irons’ fortunes. He was also back in a changing room and on the road.

Three draws against Accrington, Wolves and Rochdale followed but the journey to Wimbledon on Saturday proved worth it as a 3-2 victory lifted United up to 15th in League One.

“For the first couple of weeks, myself and Kenny were getting out to games but we weren’t going with any purpose,” McCall said of his time away from management.

“It is the little things. I would maybe be driving up to Scotland on a Friday afternoon and see the Carlisle United team bus passing me the other way. I would think, ‘It would be great to have an overnight going to a game, to be a coach, be part of a team again’.

“As a manager, there is always pressure, but it is a great challenge and it is a challenge to improve players and be successful. I had no hesitation in getting back.”

McCall has returned to a profession where the risks are as high as the rewards. Management still has a lure, though, and the Rangers legend still has unfinished business.

From his near miss as a youngster with England to those at Ibrox and Wembley as a boss, McCall’s life has been permeated by, ‘What if?’ moments. He always looks forward rather than back, however.

“I was fortunate to have a great career, not through me being great, but through the work that I did,” McCall said. “I played with such great clubs and represented my country so I won’t look back with regrets on anything.

“In every walk of life, you need a bit of luck for things to go your way. Not getting on for England when I went to Turkey as an Under-21 player, I wouldn’t have the outstanding memories of playing at World Cups and