TRAP DOOR RUN AWAY
Gio’s snub taught Reid to care for Scotland’s injured players
Steven Reid was staring at almost a year out of the game for club and country.
So the least he expected was a phone call from Ireland gaffer Giovanni Trapattoni.
Instead, the Italian didn’t just ignore him – he publicly questioned whether his player would ever perform at the top-level again.
Being blanked by his boss didn’t just hit a nerve back in 2010.
The way Trapattoni acted is still fresh in his memory even now.
That’s why the Scotland coach would never do the same with any player who’s crocked now.
He’s already been in regular contact with John McGinn at Aston Villa, after he was ruled out for three months with a broken ankle.
And Reid wi l l do the same with Manchester United ace Scott McTominay, who’s also a major doubt for Scotland’s Euro 2020 play- off semi-final against Israel in March.
He believes contact is crucial in the circumstances and that’s something he didn’t get when Trapattoni was in charge of the Republic a decade ago.
As Reid reflected on injuries to two key Scotland midfielders, Steve Clarke’s assistant said: “I’ve messaged John quite a lot already as he’s got what looks like a more serious injury.
“So I’ve been touching base and at some stage I’ll get to the Midlands to check on his rehab and see how he is.
“I had quite a few injuries myself in my career. So it touches a nerve with me when I see these boys getting injured.
“It’s important to make sure there’s contact. Fingers crossed they’ll have a speedy recovery, which would be brilliant.
“Even if the boys aren’t going to be involved in March, if it takes a bit longer, staying in touch shows that you care about them. It can be as little as: ‘ How you doing’? They’re both positive lads and good professionals.
“But sometimes just asking how they are is a nice touch for players to hear.
“That goes a long way to creating a good spirit and environment in the squad. You’re not just forgotten about.
“I had that feeling as a player when Trapattoni questioned whether or not I was actually going to get back playing again.
“I had a big operation on my cartilage at Dr Richard Steadman’s clinic in Colorado. I was out for 11 months.
“But I heard about Trapattoni ’s comments through my club. I had no contact from anyone in the Ireland set-up at that time.
“Okay, his English wasn’t great – but you’d like to think staff in the media team would brief a manager on injuries or circumstances.
“He was quite blunt, anyway, but it might have been a start to at least ask how I was doing.
“When you get long-term injuries
– I missed two years out of three at Blackburn – you get to know how you want to be treated.
“Some gaffers don’t even go into the physio room. They don’t want injured players around because they feel it affects the mood in camp.
“But others, l ike Roy
Hodgson at Crystal
Palace, are in the physio room every morning.
“That can go a long way because you can easily feel forgotten about when you’re missing for a while and doing gym work at 8am with no one around.” Ironical ly, former England boss Hodgson had a huge impact on the man now charged with helping Clarke get Scotland back to a major finals.
Reid said: “He was massive for me. When I played under him at West Brom, I loved it.
“My body wasn’t in the best shape but he’d find a way of giving me a day off and wouldn’t want to see me on the training field until a Thursday or Friday. “I had an operation on a Saturday – a screw into my wrist – trained the following Friday then played on Saturday again. It was ridiculous but we did okay, we beat Villa away! “Roy would give me a tap on the shoulder and just say: ‘ Train Friday, play Saturday’. That just gave me a buzz and confidence straight away.” Reid learned his trade as a coach under Hodgson at Crystal Palace then a spell with Clarke at West Brom that paved the way for their Scotland partnership.
While certain players are pulling out of squads with niggling injuries, as they ‘manage their body’, Reid once played for an hour with a broken LEG at Arsenal.
That kind of desire and commitment went down well with the Scotland boss. But Reid said: “I played for an hour with it. Boaz Myhill, our keeper, cleaned me out at a corner. My first thought was my knee again.
“And I’d given a penalty away so I didn’t want to come off as it would have looked like I’d bottled it.
“Also, we had a Christmas do in London after the game I had to make sure that I was there!
“Looking back, it’s scary to think I played on with a hairline fracture.
“I was sti ll hobbling around London on the Sunday.
“A lot of injured players hide behind a doctor or physio but I used to tell Steve how bad I was in the morning.
“He appreciated my honesty. A couple of times I said I was done, ready to retire. But he’d talk me down and wheel me out the following week.
“So we built up a decent relationship.
“You need to work hard to please him but I like that. If you get a ‘well done’ from the gaffer you know you’ve done well.”
There will be plenty of pats on the back if Clarke and Reid – along with Alex Dyer – can guide Scotland to Euro 2020.
Having been involved in a World Cup play- off with Ireland in 2001, he knows what’s at stake and can’t wait to welcome the Israelis to Hampden.
He said: “I’m getting excited now. It’s been a while since our games in November and it has felt too long.
“I was involved with the Republic against Iran in a play-off and that was a massive game.
“The whole country was behind us going to the World Cup in Japan – to this day that was the highlight of my career.
“I can sense that excitement here as well, because it’s been so long. You can feel it building.”
I played on for hour with hairline leg fracture .. I didn’t want to look like I’d bottled it