You lost out on Del of a manager
ABERDEEN LATEST
Gary Megson knew Derek McInnes was a born leader when he swapped Ibrox to slum it at Stockport.
That’s why when boss Megson got the West Brom job there was only one man he wanted to galvanise his squad.
The shrewd Englishman took midfielder McInnes to the Hawthorns in 2000 when the club were at a low ebb.
Two years later and with the Scot as skipper, the Baggies were promoted to the Premier League.
McInnes was a key part of that success and Megson isn’t surprised he’s now excelling in management.
He fully expected the Aberdeen gaffer to spearhead a Sunderland revival after the recently relegated side swooped last week.
But after rejecting their advances, Megson believes the Black Cats have missed out on a real pro.
Megson said: “I took Derek on loan at Stockport from Rangers in 1998, which was actually the biggest pointer for me.
“He was coming back from injury and had arrived from a massive club to little Stockport. But he mucked in and did things way more professionally than you might have expected.
“Other lads looked at him and thought, ‘ Well, if he’s willing to do it I will as well’. He just grafted, which you had to do at Stockport.
“If he’d come down with any false pretences he wouldn’t have got anywhere. We were as much of a non-league club as you could get at that stage.
“He came from Rangers and there was no culture shock for him. If there was, he didn’t show it. He just got on with the job.
“We didn’t have a training ground or anything like that. You can imagine the facilities he’d have been used to at Ibrox. It was