I’m obsessive and a control freak... but I just can’t help loving football
YOU won’t find anyone in Paisley with a bad word to say about Jack Ross. Not unless you either bump into a Morton fan, or visit St Mirren’s training ground, where, quite frankly, some people are sick of the sight of him.
‘I view Ralston as mine. I know it’s selfish, but I view it as my own personal property,’ says Saints manager Ross of the club’s facility.
‘I can’t help it, it’s just the way I am. I like to be in control of everything that goes on up there. I know that’s tough on the staff who work there, and some of them moan about my demands, but I can’t help it.
‘In terms of the standards, from whether its cleanliness, to tidiness, to organisation, to how things are laid out — it probably drives the staff crazy.’
The security guard working on reception would presumably have no such complaints.
The first to arrive every morning at the crack of dawn, Ross quite often gives him a hand to open the place up. It is during these moments that Ross does a lot of his best work.
From his home on the south side of Glasgow, the 15-minute commute is spent thinking not of how to beat the rush-hour traffic, but of how to improve both himself and his football team.
‘I am an obsessive,’ he says. ‘Most managers will tell you it is very difficult to escape from it. I just love football and I love finding new ways of doing things.’
When it comes to problemsolving, Ross could probably give Carol Vorderman a run for her money. His desire to find solutions to problems is insatiable.
God knows, St Mirren certainly had plenty of them when he arrived at the club in October 2016. Rooted to the bottom of the Championship, a plunge into the third-tier of Scottish football for the first time in the club’s history seemed highly probable.
That Ross managed to turn it around in miraculous fashion and survived to the present day makes him the club’s longestserving manager since the departure of Danny Lennon in the summer of 2014.
Tommy Craig, Gary Teale, Ian Murray and Alex Rae had all come and gone in little over two years. With such a high turnover of managers, coupled with the club’s precarious league position, the job held debatable appeal. Certainly, Ross could have been forgiven had he opted to give it a wide berth. Did he fear he might become the latest name to enter the managerial graveyard in Paisley?
‘No — I don’t ever fear the sack. You can’t operate like that. I’ve worked in the real world outside of football.
‘I remember telling the St Mirren board that it was a big decision for them but also a big decision for me because I felt as if I would get an opportunity to manage a full-time club… but you also know that you might only get one of those chances. If it goes belly-up, then you can kiss goodbye to a management career. So there was an element of risk to it, but I never really feared that risk.
‘There are plenty of other ways to make a living outwith being a football manager. Life is tough at times and too many of us complain about it and say: “Poor me”.
‘But I’ve had it before. I’ve been rejected and sacked before, both as a player and as a coach. So it doesn’t concern me. The only thing that bothers me is making sure I do my job properly.
‘I don’t ever go to my bed at night thinking: “Oh crap, I have work in the morning”. I just enjoy what I do and try to enjoy life as best as I can.
‘I worked for an investment company when I graduated from uni around 1998 and I also had a paper run as a wee boy, so I’ve seen real work.’
Ross speaks fondly of Mike Mulraney, the Alloa chairman who offered him his first managerial job. But it is his dad, Stewart, who remains his greatest influence.
‘I was fortunate when I was growing up because my dad had his own businesses, so I was always being nosey and watching how he did things to be successful,’ says Ross.
‘We used to have arguments. I would say: “You don’t understand — football’s different”. He would tell me: “No, it’s not”.
‘And he was right. Okay, football has certain unique aspects, but the principle is still the same as any other profession. You have to get the best out of people and perform to a high standard.’ That he is getting the best out of his St Mirren players is beyond question. They have won eight of their last ten matches, sit top of the Championship, and Ross has been named Manager of the Month for December.
The home straight is just about in sight, with some words of wisdom from the head coach of the Scotland rugby team ringing in his ears.
‘I met Gregor (Townsend) a few weeks ago, he was speaking at a course for the UEFA Pro Licence,’ says Ross ahead of this afternoon’s visit to Dumbarton. ‘He gave a talk and I found a lot of his points really interesting.
‘I had read about him a lot because I know my sports and I know he did an outstanding job at Glasgow Warriors.
‘He has now carried that into the national team. He is a hugely intelligent guy and a lot of the methods he discussed are definitely transferable from rugby to football.’
It is after such discussions that Ross’s obsessive streak usually goes into overdrive. Quite often, it can sabotage any downtime he might have.
‘I am like most guys who love football — if there’s a game on the telly, no matter what country or league it is, I’ll probably watch it,’ he says of his time away from work.
‘But I have two daughters and we also got a puppy just before Christmas.
‘When all these things get added into the equation, you soon discover that you don’t have much free time!’
Saints fans will hope that the former paperboy finds just enough time to deliver promotion.