Fergie: Stein taught me all I know
THE twists and turns of Sir Alex Ferguson’s life have been exhaustively examined but the story of how his career became intertwined with Jock Stein is illuminating, intriguing, humorous and inspiring.
It is a Caledonian tale with cameo roles for south-side restaurants, natters on the phone, informative journeys to Muirton Park and pots of tea. Always the pots of tea.
‘The great value was in the Saturday nights we met in the hotel at home or when we were abroad,’ says Ferguson of his duties as assistant to Stein in the Scotland set-up in the qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup.
‘It was fantastic. He was not a great sleeper, so he would have you still up until three or four in the morning with Jimmy Steele (masseur) making pots of tea.
‘I would say to him: “Jock we need to get to our beds now. I am taking training in the morning”.
‘He would reply: “You will be all right, son. You will get a sleep in the afternoon. Steely! Get another pot of tea on”.’
The road to such closeness was marked with Ferguson scrutinising Stein at a distance, whether through watching or playing against Celtic, meeting the great man in a Glasgow restaurant or listening to anecdotes on a train.
It all started in 1963. ‘I played alongside Mick Jackson when he left Celtic to go to St Johnstone.
‘Mick and I travelled up on the train to Perth together for training and matches. He would always mention Jock and the impact he had made as a reserve coach at Celtic.’
Stein had been given the reserve job in 1957 but moved on to Dunfermline as manager three years later and then became Hibs boss in 1964 before returning to Celtic the following year.
Jackson was prescient in informing Ferguson of Stein’s talents but pointed out that his innovative ways had met with some gentle resistance.
‘I had a great laugh about some of the stories. There was one about Big Jock asking Celtic goalkeeper Frank Haffey which side he wanted a defensive wall set up and Frank going eenie, meenie, minnie, mo… That did not go down too well.’
The first close encounter with Stein came in the 1965 Scottish Cup final when Ferguson, surprisingly dropped by Dunfermline manager Willie Cunningham, watched the Pars lose late to Celtic in the club’s first triumph under their new manager.
Ferguson, always a student of football, was impressed by Celtic’s tactical nous and their mental and physical strength that day. Stein became a figure of intrigue to the centre-forward.
The relationship was forged in meetings at the Beechwood restaurant in Glasgow.
Ferguson and his wife, Cathy, lived in Simshill and would go to the local restaurant where Jock, his wife Jean, Celtic assistant manager Sean Fallon and his wife, Myra, had a regular Saturdayevening dinner date.
‘Inevitably, I would get a table beside them,’ says Ferguson. ‘It was great to have a chat with him but, remember, I was a player then and I would never at that stage be too forward.
‘I would never ask how his game went that day or anything like that. You were not at the level to ask such questions. He was a top manager at Celtic and I was a player at Rangers, totally different stations in life. But he was always really good to me.’
Stein, of course, later offered Ferguson that famous insightful advice when the Govanite was pondering whether to move from East Stirling to St Mirren as manager.
The injunction to sit in the stand at the Shire and at Love Street to see what club had the greater potential struck home with Ferguson. As the friendship deepened, Stein and Ferguson talked every week on the phone.
It was no surprise then that Ferguson invited the manager who won the European Cup in 1967 to Gothenburg where Aberdeen looked to defeat Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
‘Jock was just brilliant, never intrusive or overbearing. He said to me: “I won’t get in your road. Get on with your business. If you need me, you know where I am”.’
Famously, Ferguson acted on two pieces of advice from Stein.
‘He told me to make sure we took the second training session at the stadium on the night before the game,’ adds Ferguson.
‘Jock said that (Alfredo) Di Stefano, the Real manager, would think we would have watched his session and might be unsettled by that.
‘Jock also bought a bottle of, I think, Black Label and told me: “Give that to Di Stefano as he comes off the pitch after the training session”.
‘I asked: “Why?”. Jock replied: “He will think you are a wee guy from Aberdeen, that you are dancing to his tune”.
‘I gave Alfredo the bottle of whisky and he did not know what to say to me. It was a sort of mumbled “gracias, gracias”. I caught him on the back foot.
‘It may have given him the impression that we were a wee club from Aberdeen and we had no right to be playing Real Madrid, that we were just grateful to be there.’ Ferguson adds: ‘It seems like a superficial thing, but it was profound. Clever.’
Aberdeen, of course, won the match 2-1.
Soon Ferguson and Stein were working for Scotland in the ultimately successful attempt to qualify for the 1986 World Cup.
‘Jock asked me to be his assistant after Jim McLean stood down,’ says Ferguson, who had by then made history at Aberdeen. He admitted he felt ‘apprehensive’ about working with someone of Stein’s stature. ‘You are working with someone who has won the European Cup, nine
He’d have you up talking till three or four in the morning Jock was just brilliant, never intrusive or overbearing
championships in a row. But I was starting to do well at Aberdeen. When Jock offered me the job, I jumped at it. I went to Dick Donald, my chairman, and he gave me permission to take it up.
‘It was a great boost for me at that time in my career. I was learning all the time and keen to do so. It was an honour first of all. But what an opportunity, the chance to learn from Jock Stein.
‘To be honest, I bombarded him with a million questions every time I was in his company. It was just football, football, football.
‘But I learned, too, about the power of information. He was a great networker, knew everything that was going on. He’d phone me on a Saturday night and tell me all that was happening in the game.
‘He was sharp. He would tell me on Scotland duty that such and such a club official would be phoning in later to tell him that certain players had pulled out. And it would happen — but he was always prepared for it.’
Stein was a consummate spotter and creator of playing talent but what did he see in Ferguson, who would create history at Aberdeen and Manchester United, in those casual dinner chats at the Beechwood?
What did the young Ferguson provide as apprentice to the Burnbank sorcerer?
‘My energy was important,’ says Ferguson, now 75, who was in his forties when working with Stein.
‘Jock had health problems after the car crash (in 1975) and he maybe saw me as a driver on the training field.’
Stein had survived a dreadful collision and had other health issues but he was clear about the responsibilities surrounding the Scotland set-up.
‘When he offered me the job, he told me I would do the training. I asked: “What about picking the team?” And he said: “Aw no, son, that is my department. I will discuss it with you. You will be helpful in that area and don’t be afraid to give your opinion — but that is my job”.’
Ferguson, again, learned another lesson that has accompanied him through life.
‘There was a great level of trust in me. There was respect,’ he says. ‘I appreciated that. I have learned that when you pick an assistant the first thing you need to look at is: “Can I trust this man?”.’
Stein died on September 10, 1985. The assistant, who was at his side that night in Cardiff during the World Cup qualifier against Wales, would go on to manage Scotland in the World Cup nine months later and subsequently take Manchester United to regular, unrelenting glory, bringing 38 trophies to Old Trafford.
He became, and remains, a viable contender for greatest football manager ever.
But he bows to Jock Stein. ‘He got trust from me. I idolised him.’