JOE McLAUGHLIN

Former defender looks back on his career

BEST MANAGER YOU PLAYED FOR?

I WENT through a few bosses, but the guys who brought me through at Cappielow, Benny Rooney and Mike Jackson. They were quite a double act.

BEST PLAYER YOU PLAYED WITH?

SO many to chose from. But one of the first, Andy Ritchie at Morton, tops the lot. He was a magician on the ball, and had amazing skill for such a tall guy. Not the fittest or best trainer – but he didn’t have to be.

BEST PLAYER YOU PLAYED AGAINST?

KENNY DALGLISH. He was at the tail end of his career when I moved to England – and often made me wish I’d stayed with Morton!

TURNING POINT IN YOUR CAREER?

SIGNING for Chelsea in 1983. I never regretted that, but I found out Billy McNeill fancied me for Celtic at the same time, so you do wonder sometimes what might have been.

BEST GOAL YOU SCORED?

FOR Morton reserves against St Mirren, a volley from the halfway line that never got above four feet off the pitch. Legendary Morton owner Hal Stewart said it was the best goal he’d ever seen. For some reason, he always called me Peter!

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUR CAREER?

PLAYING more than 750 senior games in my career and avoiding serious injury during it.

BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER?

ALLAN McGRAW was the youth-team coach when I joined Morton and he was brilliant.

MOST MEMORABLE GAME?

THE 1986 Full Members Cup Final with Chelsea when we beat Manchester City 5-4 in front of 75,000. The previous day we played at Southampton in the league, and I scored the only goal of the game past Peter Shilton. So that was quite a weekend.

BEST STORY ABOUT A TEAM-MATE?

AT Chelsea, we trained near Heathrow Airport most days, but at Stamford Bridge on Fridays local schools were invited in to watch. One Friday during fives, Colin Lee and Darren Wood had a bust-up. We tried to separate them, but they were knocking lumps out of each other – while the kids were falling about laughing, thinking it was all for show.

SECRET ABOUT YOU?

I LIKE keeping fit, but love chocolate. I like horses – but hate gambling. And I Iike music – but love Country & Western!

JOE McLAUGHLIN started his career with Morton, and played in the 1979 League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, a repeat of which is next Saturday. A move to Chelsea followed and Joe played for eight clubs in Scotland and England. These days he runs...