The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
I was allowed into Tattie’s inner circle – and I never wanted to leave
“Hiya pal, how you doing mate?”
That was the opening line which greeted me every time I spoke to Neale Cooper. I do not for a second believe it was reserved just for me but it was the manner in which he said it which I’ll remember whenever I think of the man known to everyone as Tattie.
The fact the Press and Journal is carrying tributes to the Gothenburg Great for a second day should tell you all you need to know about Cooper.
The strength of feeling is such that one former Don felt the need to contact this newspaper himself to pay his respects yesterday.
He was, goodness how weird does it feel writing in the past tense, a genuinely humble man.
He had no need to be. He had achieved great things in his profession, the biggest achievement coming at the age of 19 when he was the youngest Aberdeen player on the pitch in the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1983.
It was the biggest trophy he won but it seems churlish to talk of his honours. They are not what defined him.
His warm, gentle, jovial manner, his trusting nature, his patience – and of course his humour. They are the qualities which really mattered.
I was a fresh-faced novice when I first met Cooper in 2001. He was manager of Ross County, I was a rookie. But it did not matter.
He was interested in knowing more about me and once I had answered his questions, I was allowed into his inner circle and never wanted to leave.
If I needed to speak to a player, he would open his office door, grab the first guy he saw and stick him on the phone.
He did not view the media as a bother. He welcomed the attention.
It is why he welcomed the chance to alleviate the boredom from lying on his hospital bed in Paphos following a fall which left him with a nasty back injury in 2008.
It is why he felt the same way when we spoke last year after his heart attack.
He loved to talk football, loved to tell stories.
He made you smile, laugh out loud at times, but never made you feel as if you were bothering him.
That is, was, and forever will be, the Neale Cooper I know.
A genuinely good guy who would do anything to help.
It seems churlish to talk of his honours. They did not define him