BIG CHANCE

Forfar after retiring from playing, got his big break when Ferguson recruited him at Pittodrie in 1980.

He said: “I think Jim Mclean had a huge influence on that. When Pat Stanton left and Alex was looking for something else, Alex and Jim were quite close, and I knew Jim from playing at Dundee United.

“It’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. There are hundreds of people like me that just never got that opportunity, and I’ll be eternally grateful for getting that opportunity.”

Knox left the Dons in 1983 to manage Dundee but was back again in 1986 and then moved with Ferguson to Old Trafford where he stayed until 1991, when Walter Smith lured him to Ibrox where he was involved in winning seven of the nine in a row titles and the recruitment of some fantastic players. He added: “I went to look at Michael Laudrup in 1994 and I came back and said to Walter, ‘We’ve got people who can play in his position but we don’t have people that can play Brian’s position’. And that’s how we got Brian Laudrup

“It was the same with Marco

ARCHIE KNOX Negri. Sven Goran Eriksson was with Parma at the time and I went to watch his training and I told him that I was going to look at Filippo Maniero at Verona. I said, ‘We’re looking for a goalscorer.’ He said, ‘Perugia – Marco Negri – goalscorer. He’s better than Maniero’.

“I have hundreds of great moments in football. The ones that stick out obviously are the Cup Winners’ Cup with Aberdeen, the FA Cup with Manchester United, winning nine in a row with Rangers, although I was only there for seven.

“And I was in charge at Dens when Hearts lost the league on goal difference in 1986.

“It’s been phenomenal. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” l The School of Hard Knox, published by Arena Sport, is out now and available from all good bookshops and online at www. arenasportbooks.co.uk

“It’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. There are hundreds of people like me that just never got that opportunity, and I’ll be eternally grateful”