Scott Brown says his A-list of old managers have welcomed him into their crazy gang.
And the new Fleetwood Town boss insists he’ll tap into their knowledge and player pools to assist him as he begins a fresh chapter in his career.
Trophy-winning bosses Brendan Rodgers, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon are amongst those who have contacted their former driving force to outline the challenges ahead.
The first tip was obvious as Brown smiled and said: “Win games! Otherwise you won’t be a manager.”
But on a serious note, he continued: “No, they all texted me to say welcome to the crazy gang.
“I spoke to Lenny, Brendan and Gordon. For me, over the years, they have been vital.
“Gordon was the one who signed me as a young, wild 20-year-old and he nurtured me into a centre midfielder and taught me how to play well and with a bit of discipline.
“Lenny was fantastic with me. He made me captain and for me to learn from Neil, who himself was captain of Celtic, his desire to win was exceptional.
“I had Brendan later on in my career when I was 30 and he pushed me to a different level as well.
“It is about learning, stealing little bits from every manager. I have had some fantastic managers.
“I still speak to them now and I spoke to them last week about taking this job and they all gave me the green light – and glowing
references as well.
“It is huge for myself to maybe go on the phone to them and maybe ask for a favour or two. Or for them to watch the games and see what I’ve been missing as well.
“They put a lot of time and focus on me and I can’t thank them enough for that.
“But now I’m always going to ask for little favours as well, so they’re stuck with me.”
Of course, as Brown suggested, Rodgers, Strachan and Lennon all had differing styles and traits.
As a combative player, the former Scotland captain has seen all sides as he bids to craft his own approach.
He said: “I’ve seen it both ways. I’ve seen managers sitting upstairs and not coming down to speak to players. But I like to speak to people. I want to know what they’re like, what they want.
“I’ll be hands on. I enjoy that role, I like to understand people and their body language as well.
“All I want from them is to be professional, make sure they are organised and they are ready to be on the training pitch for us.
”And I grew my hair so I don’t look as wild as I usually do. It’s small things. It’s a fresh start away from Scotland. I am an inexperienced manager but at the same time I’ve learned from great managers and I’ve run dressing rooms.
“I’ve been a coach at Aberdeen as well so there’s that experience I have that will help.
“The job takes over your life and that is one thing that every single manager has told me.
“There will be no time for golf or socialising and you have to make the most of it now as you never know where you can go. To have those relationships with clubs and managers as well, it’s good that I’ve kept those doors open.”
With that in mind, Brown has also confessed he’ll be having a close look at the Scottish market as he looks to build a squad for next year’s campaign in League One.
Callum McGregor’s spell at Notts County shaped his career at Celtic and Brown joked: “I’ll take Callum! I don’t know if we could afford him.
“But yeah, definitely, there’s always going to be little bits of quality there and I’ve got a great relationship with Celtic, Hibs and Aberdeen as well.
“For me to hopefully be able to speak to them and maybe get a player or two would be huge.”
Brown has taken ex-Hibs pal Steven Whittaker with him as assistant and will use the nous of Stephen Crainey, the former Celt who is academy boss at Fleetwood.
He said: “It is good to have that bond with him. The understanding, the trust. We are going to have to lean on Stephen. He knows the league but we are going to do our homework too.
“We go on holiday on Sunday but, at the same time, if the missus and kids think it is going to be a chilled-out holiday, we are going to be working.
“We hope that puts us on the front foot to start the season well on June 23. Everything is done really well here and we are now looking forward to getting the lads on the grass.”
