GERRY McCABE
We have already got Iniestas and Xavis!
WITH Scotland in the middle of a World Cup double- header, the state of the nation is again sharply in focus.
Gerry McCabe has been around the Scottish game for five decades.
Indeed this season is the first to start with him on the sidelines since he signed for Clyde as a player in 1977.
He wants to see young Scottish players being encouraged to perform like some of the guys he played against – Paul McStay, Davie Cooper, Ian Durrant, Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister.
McCabe told The Sunday Post: “I’d love to see more entertainers in the Scottish game.
“The game is faster and the players are fitter than 25-35 years ago.
“But can enough of them pick a pass? Do they lift their heads enough when in possession? Are they aware of what’s around them before they receive a pass?
“There are very few Paul McStays in our game these days. Not enough in the mould of an Ian Durrant.
“We should be trying to unearth our versions of Iniesta and Xavi. That might sound ludicrous. But why not try?”
Always an entertainer, McCabe also plied his trade with Clydebank, Hamilton Accies, Dumbarton and Arbroath, as well as spells across the Irish Sea with Cork City and Glentoran.
After hanging up his boots, he had a spell as Dumbarton manager, in between being an assistant to Bobby Williamson at Kilmarnock, Hibs and Plymouth Argyle, Jim Mcintyre at Dunfermline and Queen of the South and Paul Hartley at Dundee.
It was his latest spell at Dens Park that gave him some real encouragement about the future.
He feels Dundee have some top talent coming through the youth system under Jimmy Boyle’s tutelage, and has really high hopes for two 16- year- old midfielders.
McCabe said: “It was good to blood youngsters such as Cammy Kerr and Craig Wighton at Dens.
“Now there are two teenagers at Dundee just now – Finlay Robertson and Lyle Cameron.
“Paul brought them in to train with the Under- 20s under Jimmy Boyle’s guidance and they stood out.
“They always look for the ball and create lovely angles to receive the ball. “I nicknamed them Xavi and Iniesta! “So I think the players are out there. It’s up to the coaches to help develop them.
“We have enough grafters in the Scottish game – but maybe we need more creative players.
“I grew up idolising Johan Cruyff, Rob Rensenbrink, Wolfgang Overath and Bernd Schuster.
“I loved the great Brazil team from the Seventies, and admired Asa Hartford, Davie Cooper, Eddie Gray, Liam Brady, Johnny Giles, Gary McAllister, Bobby Russell and Gordon Strachan.
“It’s a tall order to follow in those footsteps, but the talent is there.
“But maybe we over-coach the kids. Maybe we need to allow them more freedom to express themselves?
“If they have 15 or 20 yards of space in front of them, then coach them to go at it. Try and dribble past a player.
“When I was a young player, I’d try to take on five or six players – and then I’d get leathered!
“That taught me when to go past a player and when to release the ball.”
Sixty-year-old McCabe has been taking in plenty of games in Scotland since he left Dundee after new manager Neil McCann brought his own men in.
He hopes to get in back into football
sooner rather than later, and would welcome the chance to work with Hartley again.
He said: “This is the first time in 43 years and signing an S-form with Hibs that I’ve not been involved.
“But I still have the same passion and desire for the game as I did as a teenager.
“I’ve been very lucky to have had the career I’ve had, from winning the Scottish Cup with Kilmarnock, reaching a League Cup Final with Hibernian and good success at Plymouth Argyle.
“We won the league with Dunfermline when I was Jimmy McIntyre’s assistant and another league title with Paul Hartley.
“Paul is a worker. He has great attention to detail and wants to learn. His enthusiasm on the training ground is second to none.
“He is very single-minded and has a great eye for a player.
“You just need that wee bit of luck to go with the ability, and it’s the same for any up-and-coming kid.”