That day the legend remembered his own heroes in dark blue
Ian St John was proud of his Lanarkshire roots, fell in love with Liverpool, and was an engaging and entertaining broadcaster and person.
He was also a friend of The Sunday Post, and was a regular feature for more than a decade with his column, The Saint On Sunday.
He could play a bit too, of course, and his prowess as a striker made him a hero on the slopes of Fir Park, Anfield, Hampden Park and beyond.
But who were The Saint’s heroes? Who would make his all-time Scotland XI if someone was to ask him the question?
We did exactly that a little over 30 years ago, and here is his reply.
I’m giving my team the old 1-2-3-5 formation.
In goal, BILL BROWN of Spurs. Mr Reliable.
At right-back, I’d pick ALEX HAMILTON of Dundee. He was quick, had skill and more confidence than any player I knew.
Celtic’s DANNY MCGRAIN would be at left-back, where he often played for Scotland despite being right- back at his club. Great going forward and his stamina was immense.
My half- back line would be Spurs’ DAVE MACKAY, ALAN HANSEN of Liverpool and, of course, JIM BAXTER of Rangers.
On a ro a d s h ow wi t h Greavsie, when asked to pick Tottenham’s greatest- ever player, he chose Mackay – apart from himself, of course!
Success ive Scotland managers didn’t seem to like Hansen much, but for me he was the most under- rated player in Britain. His coolness, distribution and positional play were first-class.
And Baxter? He loved to win, and I loved players with confidence. James had that in abundance – plus that fantastic left foot.
On the right wing, it was a toss- up between Willie Henderson of Rangers or Celtic’s JIMMY JOHNSTONE. I’d go for wee Jinky for his ability to turn a match on his own.
Spurs’ JOHN WHITE would be alongside him. A player who was always a pass or yard ahead, with brilliant vision. His early death was a tragedy.
To lead the line, it has to be KENNY DALGLISH of Liverpool. Class performances, game after game, a superb finisher and he had the striker’s greatest natural gift of being in the right place at the right time.
Who else to partner Kenny than Manchester United’s King, DENIS LAW.
You’d have a pint with him during the week, then on the Saturday he’d be kicking lumps out of you!
But he had bags of skill and talent and could get the goals when it mattered.
My choice of outside- left might come as a surprise. It’s difficult to leave out the likes of To m m y Hutchison, Eddie Gray, Willie Johnstone, John Robertson and Davie Cooper.
But I’d go for DAVIE WILSON of Rangers. His contribution to bright, attacking football was immense, and he took plenty of the chances that came his way.
So did The Saint.
Ian St John hit the net nine times in his 21 Scotland appearances.
And he came within eight minutes of joining an elite band of men whose goal has sent Scotland to a World Cup Finals.
Nearly 60 years ago, The Saint was in the side that took on Czechoslovakia in Brussels, with a place at the 1962 Finals in Chile up for grabs.
We’d been thumped 4-0 in the first group meeting in Bratislava six months earlier, but had redeemed the situation with a win at Hampden, a double from Denis Law and another St John goal securing the 3-2 victory.
Those games had been watched by a total just over 100,000, but only 7,000 were inside the Heysel Stadium for the showdown.
The Saint put Scotland ahead on 35 minutes, then back in front 60 seconds after the Czechs had scored a 70th-minute equaliser.
They drew level again on 82 minutes, forcing extra time, and the impressive opposition struck twice in that half-hour to progress.
They Czechs went all the way to the Final in Chile, losing 3-1 to Brazil.
One of Scotland’s top managers has a book out this month.
Together with school headteacher and football fan, Phil Denton, Dundee United’s Micky Mellon has co-authored, The First 100 Days: Lessons In Leadership From The Football Bosses.
As the blurb explains, the part self-help manual argues that for any new leader in any walk of life, the initial time in charge is crucial.
However, it argues that should a football boss get it wrong, he will be lucky to last much beyond that.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
Sam Allardyce, David Moyes and Sean Dyche all make contributions, and attest to the power of a positive start.
Given the game’s notoriouslyhigh casualty rate, the work is always likely to be relevant.
United’s opponents this afternoon, Celtic, are under the caretaker charge of John Kennedy.
Kilmarnock and Ross County have new managers in the shape of Tommy Wright and John Hughes respectively.
At Motherwell, Graham Alexander is still comfortably inside the 100-day limit.
Kennedy apart – and as a man stuck with the “interim” tag he is a special case – what leaps out is the sheer weight of experience all the
Clubs are clearly valuing the benefits of going with the tried-and-trusted
men mentioned bring to their jobs.
Mellon’s own first post was with Fleetwood Town – some 13 years and 600 games ago.
Put another way, he is closing in on 5,000 days, which is 50 times the time span scrutinised in his book.
And Hughes makes him look a comparative newcomer.
He landed his first job in 2003 when he and Owen Coyle were appointed joint-managers of Falkirk.
When Coyle moved on to assist Ian Mccall at Dundee United, big Yogi was left in sole charge.
Tommy Wright has been at it for 18 years, too, having started off with Limavady United in Northern Ireland, and has spent the last eight of them in Scotland.
Even Alexander, the least experienced of the group, can point to a decade in the role.
The former Scotland internationalist gets bonus points, too, for having to do his last job, at Salford City FC, in the middle of a reality television show.
A reality show in which he played a cameo role to Gary Neville and his high-profile pals, including David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.
Combined, they suggest the trend in Scottish football is to look for men who have been round the block – and then done another few laps of the circuit for good luck.
Despite the attractiveness of bringing in someone shiny and new to the job – and remember here the excitement generated by the surprise appointment of Steven
Gerrard by Rangers back in 2018 – clubs are clearly valuing the benefits of going with the tried and trusted. Why?
Because taking the safe option effectively guarantees you are getting a leader who knows how to handle themselves, and those around him.
In these toughest of times, with all clubs trying to make it through the financial storm caused to the industry by Covid-19 as best they can, that is a quality not be underestimated.
Ahead of today’s meeting with Celtic and Kennedy, Mellon spoke of the shock of becoming a manager for the first time.
His conclusion was that in an era where playing FIFA Manager is all the rage, everybody thinks they can do the job.
Until they are the one held responsible for everything, though, they do not have a clue.
With pretty much all bosses sitting over an ejector seat waiting to be sprung by their chairman’s trigger finger, it stands to reason those who manage to carve out a lengthy career in the game for themselves must be doing something right.
The former Tranmere Rovers manager has pitted his wits against some of the best doyens of the dugout in his time.
He has a formidable list that includes Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino.
While their styles may have varied, they all had one thing in common – the ability to send out teams that will win football matches on a consistent basis.
For the current incumbent at Tannadice, it can boiled down even further.
His target is to develop talented players into winners.
Master that great trick, and you can write your own chapters in the story of your career.
Fail, and even after all your years in the game, that danger of finding yourself suddenly discontinued remains ever present.