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the
manager
WINTER 2011
I was with Manchester United, but
maybe that should have been ten.
Also, we lost some big domestic cup
games and some big semi-finals in the
Champions League. And, of course,
I should have done a lot better as a
manager too.
Is it possible to carry the ‘lead
by example’ philosophy you had
as a player into management?
It’s difficult. Playing and managing
are like chalk and cheese. When
I was playing, particularly when
I was captain, I found leadership
very easy, but that was because
it was about actions rather than
words. When I became a manager,
that situation changed; you’re a lot
more dependent on your staff, for
example, and I certainly didn’t find
that transition too easy. I’ve always
had a great enthusiasm for the game
and I was surprised when I went
into management to be working
with people who maybe didn’t have
the same level of enthusiasm... that
knocked me back a little.
You played for some great
managers. Have you ever found
yourself trying to emulate them,
remembering what they’d said
to you and repeating it?
No, not really. I was very lucky to
have played under some very good
managers; Brian Clough, Sir Alex
Ferguson, Gordon Strachan, Jack
Charlton, Mick McCarthy, Brian
Kerr. I might have disagreed with
some of them, but hopefully I
learned
something from each of them too.
I appreciate that I got to play under
them, but copying them would be
impossible. There are things that I’ve
taken into my own management style
from everyone I’ve worked with, but
I’ve always been my own man.
Is it true that Clough once
punched you after a game...
and you thought that was fine?
I remember that well. It was a cup
game against Crystal Palace and I tried
to send a pass back to our goalkeeper
Mark Crossley, who wasn’t the
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