“Rankin, is your mammy awrite for sugar?” He can still hear that gruff, Govan voice bellowing down the corridor of Manchester United’s training ground. After a 20-year playing career, it’s amazing what sticks in your mind. But John Rankin has never forgotten such a simple, humble example of Sir Alex Ferguson’s brilliance. It’s those things that made him the greatest manager of all time.
And the iconic figure that every young Scottish gaffer is still trying to aspire to. Rankin was a kid at Old Trafford for three years before signing for Ross County in 2003. In Dingwall, he worked under another doyen of coaching in this country, Alex Smith. Now, he’s embarking on his own journey as a boss having taken the reins at Hamilton Accies.
Anyone who knows Rankin will have no doubts about him doing things his way. But that won’t stop him trying to emulate the mixture of graft and guile that Ferguson and Smith had in abundance. Rankin doesn’t want to just coach his players for a game on a Saturday. He wants to mentor them, for life on AND off the pitch.
That’s something Sir Alex was particularly renowned for at Manchester United. And Rankin is still grateful that he got a taste of it himself as a youngster. The new Accies boss told Mailsport : “People might slaughter me for this because I was only 16 or 17 at the time.
“But I go back to Fergie at Manchester United. He used to shout along the corridor: ‘Rankin, is your mammy awrite for sugar’? That’s what he was brought up with in Govan. He used to tell me that, as a boy, he’d run round to his neighbour with a sugar bowl whenever she was short.
“It was about recognising the needs of certain families. And he took that into management. It’s crazy how you remember stuff like that. But it’s so important now when everyone is so different.
"In this day and age, there is still poverty and food banks. Now, I’m not saying any of my players are in that position. But you just don’t know what families are going through.
“You have to have an understanding of how they are and what situation they’re in. I probably got that from Sir Alex. It’s about talking to people, getting to know them. When I first signed down there, he met my parents.
“A while later, my mum and dad were back down to take me for an injection in my groin. When Fergie met my dad in reception, he called him by first name. Maybe he knew he was coming, maybe not.
“But to take the time to make sure he addressed my dad in that way, it was a brilliant personal touch. Those small details are what made him the best. Alex Smith was like that as well. They were both old school managers but they always got the best out of their players.
“At Ross County, if you didn’t get a result it felt like you’d let Alex down personally. You had that on you because he was so good with us, away from football.
“That’s the type of manager I’d like to be, one who knows as much about my players off the pitch as on it. It’s important to know what makes your players tick.”
Rankin is a modern-day coach who did his apprenticeship working in Hearts’ academy. But he’s got old school values. As a player, no-one worked harder than Rankin. Tee-total and a consummate pro, he could never be accused of not maximising his ability over two decades. He wants his training to be enjoyable but says players must know who’s in charge.
Rankin said: “If you can marry those old school elements of management, where players don’t want to let you down, with modern coaching techniques, you won’t go far wrong. Steve Clarke did a presentation on my pro-licence course and the persona you see on TV is completely different to the type of guy he is.
“I really warmed to him, what he said and how we went about it. He explained that you now need to be comfortable on the grass. That’s important now because players want to see examples of your work, especially if you’re a young manager.
“Look at Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, all the top managers. They’re all taking sessions. Players see top coaches doing that so expect the same with you.
“But those managers also have a line that players don’t cross. That’s the old school bit. There’s a strict side and an aggression. They’ve managed to get the blend right and that’s why they’re successful.
“But you can’t model yourself on anyone else. That’s hugely important. You can’t copy what someone else does. You have to be your own man and hope that it works for you.
“Whether it’s the cleaner here, the groundsman or my star striker - on a Monday morning, it’s important they all get the same energy from me. I want to be a sounding board for everyone at the club.
“But when the time comes to work and graft, they need to know there’s a serious side where we go and be successful together.”
That won’t be easy for Rankin at Accies. After being relegated from the top flight, they found it tough in the Championship last season, finishing sixth and outside the play-off spots. After taking over from Stuart Taylor, he’s now consumed by the job. His nature will dictate that he leaves no stone unturned - but Rankin is wary of being swallowed up by the role.
He said: “I’m so driven and I love it. I get out of bed every morning, come in here for 7am and can’t wait to see what’s going to be different about that day. I love the football side and I’m learning the other side of it. I don’t have all that yet.
“I’m desperate to succeed and I’ll try everything I can to make sure I do. As a player, I was in the middle of the pitch trying to control what was going on. Now, I’m on the side relying on 11 guys. And I’ve quickly learnt that it has to be 11 guys that you trust.
“If it meant staying awake for 24 hours a day to achieve what I want, I’d do it. That’s how hungry I am. And I need people around me who are the same.
“So far the players have been brilliant, they were a huge part of why I took the job. Their willingness to work and compete convinced me that this was the right thing to do.
“For them, they need to be 24/7 athletes. For me, I need to eat, sleep and breathe football. But at the same time, I need to find time for my family and get the balance.
“Because if I don’t, I could become fatigued very quickly. Whether it’s a day or a night, I need to take my brain away from it. If you’re constantly thinking about being the best, you’ll get tired of thinking about being the best.
“I need to switch off for an hour then go back to it. I’ve seen myself looking at a video of a game and I can’t see how we’re going to break an opposition team down.
“So I’ll go away, take the kids to the park or play in the garden for an hour. Then I come back to it and it’s clear as day what I was looking for.”
