Magnificent Seven can do Premiership proud this season
I DON’T want to chase our bright young coaches and managers away from the SPFL Premiership. But I think it’s great to see their excellent work noticed by clubs in England.
Derek McInnes was wanted by Sunderland and the job was his if he fancied it. But he decided to stay at Aberdeen and focus on continuing to improve the Dons after four very solid years at Pittodrie.
It’s no wonder Stewart Milne was ecstatic at keeping McInnes because he would have been a hard man to replace.
In the past few days, we’ve had Partick Thistle boss Alan Archibald linked with Oxford United. The English League One side lost their manager, Michael Appleton, to Leicester City and are looking for a quality replacement.
Archibald has been at Firhill for the same length of time as Derek has been at Aberdeen. What they have produced at different times for their respective clubs is a reminder to some owners and chief executives that being trigger-happy is rarely the answer. Patience is often rewarded.
Archibald was also on the radar of Shrewsbury Town last season, and is clearly a very talented young man. Thistle will not want to lose him, but they may well face that scenario sooner rather than later. Still, they’d take great credit for helping Archibald grow and develop in the job.
You look elsewhere in the Premiership and you see young Scotsmen being given an opportunity.
Ian Cathro at Hearts. LeeMcCulloch at Kilmarnock. Ross County with Jim McIntyre. Neil McCann at Dundee. Martin Canning at Hamilton Accies. So, that’s seven Scottish bosses in charge of the top 12 teams, all of them 45 or under.
They will know they are in a fortunate position and to make the most of the opportunity.
They work tirelessly and during the days, weeks and months ahead, they will be faced with difficult decisions that will cause upset along the way to players and others.
But they must not shy away from facing every challenge head on.
Yes, it will cause them sleepless nights here and there, but it’s all about doing what’s best for getting a victory in the next game.
That was the way I always looked at things when I managed at Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Celtic because it’s best to make life as least complicated as possible when you are a manager.
Naturally, some players will be disappointed if they have been left out of the team. But it’s vital to keep the players onside and explain decisions.
You need to have the players with you, or as many of them as possible. Treating them with respect goes a long way to achieving that.
That relationship with the players is even more vital for the Scottish managers because they don’t have the luxury of having transfer funds to go out and just buy a replacement. So I think you need to have a good personality, as well as being prudent and diligent.
I’m very confident about the future of our young coaches in Scotland. I know from when I’ m doing community work in Scotland for McDonald’s that the coaches are good and well-drilled. A lot of credit has to go to the SFA and the foundations they have put in place at Largs.
Going back to the days of Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown to Jim Fleeting and Donald Park, the coaches of tomorrow are learning good habits and given excellent preparation
That’s the way it should be, because to go all the way in your coaching badges costs the guys a five-figure sum.
It’s been well-documented that Jose Mourinho went through some of his early coaching work at Largs and went on to achieve some fantastic success.
We’ ll see what kind of improvements and developments there are in the seven guys I’ve mentioned. They will all have different targets set out for them by their clubs and they will do their very best not to fall short.
Some accelerate at a quicker pace than others and that is only natural. It happens in every walk of life.
When I was at school, I was taught the same things as the guy next to me – but he went on to university to get his degree and I didn’t.
When we are taking driving lessons and sitting our tests, we are all taught the same thing but some of us pick it up quicker than others. Then when we pass, we all drive at different speeds and interpret it in our own ways.
It’s the same with football managers. They take in the information available to them and then decide how they are going to use it.
I think we have a fascinating season ahead. I wish them all well.
Yes, it will cause them sleepless nights, but it’s all about doing what’s best to get a victory in the next game