David Moyes has paid tribute to the late Craig Brown for being part of the coaching blueprint which helped the West Ham United manager become the seventh Scot to lift a European trophy.
Moyes was on holiday in America last week when he learned of the former Scotland manager’s death at the age of 82, but on his return to London yesterday, he was eager to offer his praise for the ‘master football teacher’ for Brown’s huge contribution to Scottish coaching.
The 60-year-old became the seventh Scottish manager to win a European trophy when he guided the Hammers to the Europa Conference League prize last month, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final to follow in the footsteps of Jock Stein (Celtic), Matt Busby (Manchester United), Willie Waddell (Rangers), Bill Shankly (Liverpool), Sir Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen & Manchester United) and George Graham (Arsenal).
However, the man who is closing in on 1100 games in England as a manager reveals it is because he got the coaching bug so early at 21, thanks to the SFA courses at Largs, which Brown and Andy Roxburgh on every summer.
“It was so sad to hear that Craig had died because he was an incredible character, and helpful man to me and everyone else he met,” said Moyes. “But first and foremost, Craig was a great coach.
“I actually first went to Largs when I was 16 as ‘a runner,’ which is what the coaches use to simulate lives matches when I was at school. Andy Roxburgh was the Scotland youth coach at the time, Craig was Clyde manager, and I was in Andy’s Scotland under-18 team which played in the Euros.
“I did my A licence at Largs when I was 21 and the template that Andy and Craig put down allowed younger coaches like myself to emerge.
“When Andy became Scotland manager in 1986, Craig was his assistant and they reached the World Cup finals in 1990 and Euro ’92, before Andy went to Uefa, and then Craig continued the run of qualifications by getting Scotland to Euro ’96 and the World Cup in 1998.
“Maybe it has taken time for that to be appreciated, but as national managers, that is a great track record. Andy and Craig made a huge impact on Scottish football, but the influence on the coaches from the next generation was just as important.
“Maybe they are not at the level of a Jock Stein or a Bill Shankly in terms of legendary status as managers, but they had a huge impact on the development of coaches. They were passing the baton on. Sir Alex Ferguson learned from Stein as a younger coach and Craig and Andy did the same to people like me.
“The SFA has a brilliant set-up and I know it used to get labelled as ‘the Largs Mafia’ but it attracted coaches from Europe like AC Milan’s Arrigo Sacchi, or a young Jose Mourinho.
“The classes were good and Craig was at the heart of that. He became a really successful Scotland manager but he was a teacher at heart. Maybe that came from his being a primary teacher. He was passing on his knowledge all the time. He was the teacher and I was the pupil.”
Ironically, Moyes started management the same summer Brown was taking Scotland the 1998 World Cup finals, at Preston North End, the first step in a 23-year managerial career.
When Brown left the Scotland job in 2002, he replaced Moyes at Preston while his young compatriot replaced Walter Smith as Everton boss, and Moyes’ eleven years at Goodison saw him chosen by Ferguson to be Fergie’s successor at Manchester United. Moyes’ year at Old Trafford was followed by spells with Real Sociedad, Sunderland, before finding success at 60 with West Ham.
“I had the good fortune of seeing more of Craig when he was at Preston because I lived in the area when I was Everton manager,” said David. “When he went back to Scotland, he had good spells with Motherwell and Aberdeen and defied his age. When I was out of work, though, Craig wanted me to go to the US for a job there. He always tried to help.”
Right now, Moyes is the only Scottish manager in England’s top flight but in the wake of West Ham’s European glory, he realised his own personal debt of gratitude to all the older compatriots who had helped him on his journey.
"Craig and Andy were at the top the list,” said David, “But there were so many people who went out of their way to help, such as Archie Knox, Fergie, Jimmy Lumsden, Gordon Wallace and Dick Campbell – when I was at Dunfermline – they all shaped me. In fact, I think it’s great that Dick still has the enthusiasm to do this job at 71 at Arbroath.”
