Trapattoni hurt drives Reid on to display a caring side

STEVEN REID was approaching the end of a long and punishing journey back from knee surgery. The chink of light appeared at the end of the tunnel after 11 months out of action. Many troublesome mental and physical obstacles had been cleared.

Then, with one sweeping cack-handed statement from his international manager, Reid returned to a dark place.

The Scotland assistant manager, then with Blackburn Rovers, had been misguided in presuming he could count on the support of Giovanni Trapattoni and his Republic of Ireland coaching staff.

In fact, he at no point heard from the Italian head coach through his slog back to full fitness.

That was disappointing enough before Trapattoni then suggested that, by way of explaining the player’s absence from an international squad, Reid would struggle to return to the game at the top level.

Reid did return to the Premier League in August 2009. For Blackburn under Sam Allardyce, who described Reid’s treatment by Trapattoni as ‘disgusting’.

For West Brom and Steve Clarke, who he helped to a club-record eighth-placed finish in 2013. And, finally, for Burnley before retiring in 2015.

However, he never played for Ireland again once that sour note was struck.

That’s why Scotland’s wounded are more likely to be stalked than shunned by Reid and national coach Clarke during their time out with injuries.

John McGinn, Kieran Tierney and Scott McTominay are among the top names struggling to be fit for the March play-off tie against Israel.

You may think that Premier League stars have everything they need on the rehab road.

But Reid’s experience tells him that they don’t — unless they are reminded by someone at the SFA how much their nation needs them.

He explains: ‘Even if John McGinn wasn’t going to be involved this time, even if it took a bit longer, if you show that you care about him then that can go a long way to creating a good spirit and environment in the squad.

‘It’s important for people on the fringes or injured that they’re not just forgotten about.

‘It really can be as little as: “How are you doing?” That can be a nice little touch.

‘As I had quite a few injuries myself, it touches a little bit of a nerve with me. I make sure the contact is there and that the rehab is going well.

‘I’ve messaged John quite a lot, touching base with him and, at some stage, I will get to the Midlands to check on his rehab and see how he is.

‘I didn’t have that feeling as a player when Trapattoni questioned whether I was actually going to get back again.

‘Whether it was the language barrier or not, I don’t know. But I had no contact from anyone in the set-up at that time. His English wasn’t great but you’d like to think staff on the media team would brief managers and coaches on injuries and circumstances. Or it might have been a start to actually ask me how I was doing.

‘The last couple of games I played for the Republic were probably my best performances. I had cemented my place there then I was off having an operation at Dr (Richard) Steadman’s in

Colorado and rehab for a year. After that, I made the decision to concentrate on club football because it was a serious injury and I could only manage three-quarters of a Premier League season at a push.

‘The international breaks were when I could recover the knee. At times it was getting drained weekly, it was that bad.

‘The club was supportive but I did learn one or two lessons during that rehab, that’s for sure.’

A spell working on the coaching staff headed by a former England coach taught Reid precisely how he should act towards the injured parties under his watch.

‘When you have those sort of injuries — that was me missing two years out of three during a spell — you kind of get to know how you want to be treated,’ he explains.

‘Some managers don’t go in the treatment room. Some don’t really want injured players around, thinking it affects the mood in the camp.

‘Others like Roy Hodgson are in the physio room every morning, checking on injured players before he goes out on the training pitch.’

Scotland boss Clarke’s support was ‘massive’ at the Hawthorns, the bedrock for a relationship between manager and player which turned into mentor and coaching apprentice. Reid was too classy a performer and a top character around the West Brom camp to be marginalised, so he was cleverly nursed mentally and physically by Clarke to tease the best out of him.

The 38-year-old provides an insight into Clarke’s cute man-management by revealing: ‘My body wasn’t in the best physical shape but he would find ways of giving me a day off, wouldn’t want to see me training until a Thursday.

‘I remember I had an operation after a Saturday, a screw put into my wrist, trained Friday and played Saturday. Ridiculous, really. We beat Aston Villa away.

‘It was a little tap on the shoulder from him: “Train Friday, play Saturday” and that just gave you a buzz and confidence straight away.

‘You need to work hard to please him, which I like as well. If you get a “well done” from the gaffer, then you know you are doing really well and I like that, having to prove yourself, having to be on it every day — even as a coach.’

Given that he once played a half of football with a fractured fibula against Arsenal under Clarke, Reid was hell-bent on pleasing his gaffer and, in that case, dangerously determined to prove his hardiness.

Today, Reid finds that approach hard to find. And, as Alex McLeish and Clarke discovered as Scotland managers, the outbreak of injuries at international time can be of curiously epidemic proportions.

‘Okay, I do think I was a bit extreme the other way,’ he concedes, ‘but I think, in terms of sports science and recovery, players are more aware now and know too much information at times.

‘My opinion is, yeah, you can train that little bit harder because you can be surprised what the body can do if pushed a little bit harder.

‘It does frustrate me. Little niggles — and they are not getting out on the pitch.’

It’s important for people on the fringes or injured that they are not just forgotten about

Tickets for Scotland’s vital UEFA Euro 2020 Play-off semi-final against Israel at Hampden Park are currently on sale at tickets.scottishfa.co.uk