Ex-Scotland skipper Gary McAllister: I was shocked when Gordon
Strachan lapped me during a training run.. and he was 35
4 Aug 2013 11:35
THE former Leeds star admits the Scotland boss proved an inspiration
when he moved to Elland Road in the 1990s.
GARY McALLISTER turned up for pre-season training at Leeds United and
thought he was the real deal.
At just 25 years old he’d landed in the big time with the Yorkshire
giants after making the switch from Leicester City.
But on his very first day he realised just how far he had to go – when
Gordon Strachan LAPPED him during a training run.
Despite being almost 10 years older than him, McAllister was instantly
shocked at how fit the flame-haired veteran was.
Strachan went on to become a huge influence in the ex-Scotland captain’s
career at Elland Road and later at Coventry City.
And McAllister believes it was on the training ground where he learned
most from Strachan – and reckons it will be the same for the Scotland
players now he’s boss.
The 48-year-old said: “I went to Leeds United when I was 25 and I
thought I was a good player. I got the move to the big city club. But
the thing that really smacked me right between the eyes when I first
encountered Gordon Strachan was how important Monday to Friday was.
“I thought Saturday was the day to perform but if you trained properly
and lived the life properly during the week then Saturday takes care of
itself.
“I learned that from watching him. It was what he put in his body and
how he trained. I can remember getting massacred by him in the first
pre-season and thinking ‘How can someone who is 35 be lapping me!’
“He would beat me on the long distance runs and the 400s. He was miles
ahead – and he was 35! I couldn’t believe it.
“I was looking closely at the wee tablets to see what they were! But if
you look at that Leeds team you had David Batty playing until he was 35
or 36, Gary Speed playing until he was 39 and Gary Kelly who was in and
around the team playing well into his 30s.
“Gordon influenced everyone around him. It used to be that as soon as
you were over 30 you were finished but if you look at players now there
are a lot playing over 35.
“He can help the Scotland players in the same way. He’s a coach, he’ll
tell you that. He’s not a guy who misses training and sits with a suit,
he’ll always be a tracksuit man.
“Training’s got to be fun. It’s a game of passion and love so there’s
got to be fun but there’s also a time when you’ve got to say ‘Right,
let’s be focused’. But it’s still got to be something you love and enjoy.
“The main thing he’ll get from the Scotland players is respect. His CV
stands up and that gives him respect. Once you work with him and listen
to him you’ll know that he’s a football man. You just know he’s been
there, seen it and done it. You can’t argue with him. Some people put
their hands up and say ‘Come with me, I’m a winner’.
“Gordon is a winner – a lot of people who say they’re winners have never
won.”
Strachan stepped down from his last three jobs – at Southampton, Celtic
and Middlesbrough – but McAllister insists that should never be mistaken
for a loss of hunger.
He said: “I still see the glint in Gordon’s eye. That’s definitely still
there and won’t ever go away. He’s extremely competitive and didn’t even
like losing five-a-sides in training.
“I’m sure once he just drove home in his training gear after losing a
game of five-a-sides. That is how competitive he is. I can still see
that in his demeanour and the Scotland players will thrive off of that
mentality.
“His sense of humour might mask that competitiveness but people are now
getting to realise that’s his make-up because behind the one-liners he’s
fiercely competitive.
“I don’t think the fact he chose to leave those clubs is anything to do
with a lack of hunger for the game. It’s just him realising that it was
time for a change – I’ve had that feeling when I’ve been at clubs.
“It takes a brave man to do that because a lot of people just sail along.
“Gordon has been right at the coalface since he was 15 and never had a
break. As you get older and wiser your instinct might tell you to take a
wee sabbatical but the competitiveness doesn’t go away.”
McAllister was this week presented as the new voice of BT Sport but
might risk the wrath of his old pal if he feels the need to criticise
the national team.
But he said: “I’m not worried. He and I have had a few barneys over the
years – he’s taken his ball home a few times and I’ve taken mine home.
That’s why we got on so well, I don’t think we ever mainly agreed.”
Many expected Strachan to hire McAllister as part of his coaching team
when he landed the Scotland the job.
But he revealed: “When Gordon got the job I spoke to him and he said he
was bringing Mark McGhee in.
“The Stuart McCall aspect makes sense because he needed someone involved
in the game in Scotland.
“I was fine with that and I’ll help him in any way I can now that I’ll
be at a lot of games in Scotland. I’ve got a teenage boy who has been at
four schools and you can’t be selfish your whole life. With this I don’t
need to move my family.”
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