Our game needs managerial characters — not robots

SCOTTISH managers are forever telling players to go out and express themselves. That irony should be lost on no one. Paul Hartley and John Collins have been packed off to the naughty step this week. Cast into Room 101 for acts of non-conformity. Dundee boss Hartley was sent to the stand for celebrating an injury-time equaliser in a terrific, passionate Tayside derby. In the old days, they marked this kind of thing with a manly handshake and a tip of the cap. But Dundee — a team adding greatly to the colour of the Premiership this season — had just battled back from 2-0 down against their greatest rivals. And for the heinous crime of leaving his technical area Hartley was sent to stand in the corner. SFA chief Stewart Regan says fourth official Craig Charleston and referee John Beaton were only applying the rules. Hartley won’t be punished further, which is fair because he shouldn’t have been punished in the first place. The Scottish game needs more joy and character. Not robots and managerial drones. Which brings us nicely to Collins. Asked about the differences between playing in Europe and playing in the SPFL, Celtic’s assistant manager was a little more blunt on the standard of the domestic game than he might have been. ‘No disrespect to teams here, but they’re not clever enough players or quick enough thinkers to punish us,’ he said. Celtic’s midweek draw with Kilmarnock suggested otherwise. But Collins had only uttered a statement of the statistically obvious. No team outwith Celtic or Rangers has won the domestic title since 1985. The Parkhead club are currently on four-in-a-row — and were already on three before they started buying up players from Dundee United and Hibs. Nevertheless, Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes branded Collins ‘disrespectful’. Others, including Hartley, were equally underwhelmed. No one denies Collins might have chosen his words a little better. However, in this era of bland platitudes and cliche, a man uttering an honestly-held opinion should be encouraged. Scottish football is in danger of becoming a joyless vacuum for the bland and easily offended. A place where managers will soon wear highvisibility vests and use prompt cards at Press conferences. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: We may not always agree with them, but we should all defend to the death the right of managers to make an ass of themselves.