STAR DESTROYER
Stubbs on high after seeing off Guti to job
FOR Alan Stubbs, finding himself on the shortlist to manage St Mirren along with the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid was more than a touch surreal.
The former Hibs and Rotherham boss, however, insists he always backed himself to beat José María Gutiérrez Hernández — Guti, to his friends — to take over the Paisley hotseat.
After pipping candidates including the three-times Champions League winner to earn a three-year contract, Stubbs is now looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the big beasts that already reside in the Premiership.
For the 46-year-old, the presence of Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, Steven Gerrard at Rangers and Steve Clarke at Kilmarnock all add to the sense of Scottish football being on the rise.
‘Guti and Alan Stubbs? It doesn’t really go together but from what I gather, he did put his name in,’ said a smiling Stubbs.
‘I felt it was a bit strange he was in the running for the St Mirren job and he was also favourite for the Real Madrid job. But once I knew I had an interview, you have to back yourself no matter who is there that you are the one who is going to impress and make them give you the job.
‘I’m just delighted to be back in football with St Mirren. The profile of this league is only going in one direction, and that’s up.
‘It’s not just the fact Steven Gerrard has come into Rangers this summer. I think Brendan Rodgers coming into Celtic initially was the catalyst for it.
‘You see Steve Clarke come to Kilmarnock, and now Steven Gerrard has chosen to dip his toes in the water at a massive club. Suddenly, you look at Sky and the other broadcasters and there seems to be more airtime for Scottish football now, which is great and can only help generate more money through sponsorship.
‘It certainly seems as if there is a real feelgood factor around the Scottish game at the moment.’
There was not much of a feelgood factor around Scottish football when Stubbs took over at Hibs in the summer of 2014.
The Easter Road club and Hearts had just been relegated and, in the second tier, they were joined by a Rangers side on their way back from financial apocalypse.
While unable to take Hibs up via the play-offs, Stubbs steered the Leith outfit to a historic first Scottish Cup in 114 years.
‘Even though it was the Championship, at times it was getting the same coverage as the Premiership,’ he said.
‘It was probably the toughest Championship there’s ever been and it was unfortunate that Hearts and Rangers were there to stop us getting out of it.
‘But now you find yourself in the Premiership and it’s probably the strongest the league has been for a number of years.
‘It will be (emotional) going back to Hibs, because it will always have a place in my heart. I have some fantastic memories from my time there. I’m also looking forward to going to Celtic Park as a manager, which I haven’t done yet. I’m also looking forward to going back to Rangers!’
After the Scottish Cup victory in 2016, Stubbs headed for Rotherham United but quickly regretted his decision when he was sacked after 14 games.
Bruised but wiser for the setback, he is looking forward to taking charge of a club on the up after the sterling work done by predecessor Jack Ross.
‘In terms of management, I’m still young,’ he said. ‘This is only my third job. But, really, I look upon it as only my second job because I couldn’t really call Rotherham a job, having only been in it for three months. It was almost like I was hired part-time.
‘Listen, it’s a good club and I’m glad they have come back up to the Championship. I wish them all the best and there’s no hard feelings. It would be very easy for me to say it was all their fault, that they didn’t do this or that. But there’s no point.
‘It just didn’t work out, for whatever reason, and I’m just delighted to be sitting here with another opportunity to do well at a club.
‘Obviously St Mirren had a really good experience last season when coming up from the Championship and it’s important to carry on that feelgood factor.’
St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott, meanwhile, wants enjoyable, attacking football under Stubbs even if that comes at the expense of league places.
‘The first target is to stay in the league but I just want to enjoy my football and entertain the fans and bring supporters back,’ he said. ‘That’s much more important than finishing seventh.
‘I obviously want to finish sixth but I can’t stress enough the emphasis on entertaining.
‘It’s an entertainment industry and I’d rather enjoy my football and finish ninth than be bored to tears and finish seventh.
‘The difference financially between finishing seventh and ninth isn’t much. It barely gets you an extra player.
‘But if you play good football and get a couple of thousand fans through the door then that would be financially better.
‘We’ve got every chance of being up there this season. If Kilmarnock can do it last season then why can’t we? It’s not a target we are setting but if we could end up top six, I’d be delighted.’