There's probably a bit of him that misses the madness of it all. You don’t spend almost 50 years in football without developing a sadomasochistic streak.
But, for the most part, Gordon Strachan is happy to be well out of the Old Firm firing line. Especially in weeks such as this. On Sunday Glasgow’s feuding neighbours will go toe-to-toe in a potentially titanic Scottish Cup showdown at Hampden. And in this week’s semi-final special episode of our Off the Record podcast, former Celtic boss Strachan has lifted the lid on the emotional torture involved before, during and after managing on derby day.
He said: “There’s a point where you’ve finished whatever game you’ve been playing, then you have a day when you think, ‘Oh, it’s coming up, the Old Firm game’. So you’ve probably got a day to reflect on it and that’s the day when you’re probably a wee bit wary. You think, ‘I wish the game was finished now, I knew the result and I knew what’s going to happen with the rest of my life! Am I going to be in a job? How many people are waiting for me outside the stadium when the game’s finished?’ And you think, ‘Right OK, is there an escape route out of this stadium where nobody can see me?’ But once the training starts, it’s good fun. You take on the challenge.”
For Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale, this week will be spent trying to shake off the lethargy of under par performances against Motherwell and Aberdeen. Neither man can afford a repeat when the fireworks go off at the national stadium. But Strachan has personal experience of what this incendiary fixture could have in store for the men in charge. And absolutely no idea what they can do to spare themselves from the blast. Speaking in the podcast he recalls his first ever derby day at Ibrox - a stormy 3-1 defeat in August 2005 - which came on the back of a shaky start to his Celtic career.
He said: “I had many disasters before I got to my first Celtic-Rangers game. I was on the ropes by the time I got the first one! I thought I was ready for most things in football but I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready for the scrutiny and everything else that goes with it - the intrusion in your life, the intensity - it blows you away really. I was lucky I had Tommy Burns beside me to take my hand through it.
“As a matter of fact, he had to explain to me what was going in my first Old Firm game. I think we were 2-0 down and I heard this song, ‘Chesney, Chesney what’s the score?’. So I’m looking about going, ‘What’s all that about?’ I really should have been concentrating on the game at the time! So I gave Tommy a shout, ‘Tommy, what are they shouting about?’. Tommy said, ‘They’re talking about you - you’re Chesney!’. He then explained it was a guy off Coronation Street. I was, ‘Fine, that’s good’. We scored a goal just after that so Chesney was quite pleased for a couple of seconds!”
Strachan’s game plan had to be ripped up when Alan Thompson was sent off during the first half.
He said: “In my first game - and maybe I was wrong - I showed videos to experienced players of what goes wrong in Old Firm games, getting sent off, trying to pacify your support by clattering into tackles. Then the guy who gets sent off is waving at the Celtic fans, ‘Oh well done, we’re down to 10 men and you’re waving at them, smashing. Thank you!’
“So I showed this video the night before my first game. And Alan Thompson got sent off in 30 minutes! So you’re going, ‘Well done with that video, that was a waste of time!’ You get in the dressing room after the game and you could hear outside the fans shouting in, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning!’ You could hear this and people throwing things at the window.
“I said, ‘Lads, how are you meant to win a game when you’re down to 10 men against a strong Rangers side, away from home? How are you meant to do that when you’ve had one player sent off?’. Then I heard this voice from the corner, ‘Eh, we got two sent off!’ I said, ‘When? When did someone else get sent off?’. And Lenny went, ‘I got sent off coming up the tunnel!’ Well, that’s not so bad then. At least you played the game and then got sent off! Well disciplined Lenny!”
Strachan recovered to secure a league and Scottish Cup double in his first season at the helm. But the drama of derby day remained undiminished all the way through his four years in charge.
Strachan said: “The build-up to the game is quite enjoyable apart from the press conferences because you try to make sure you do not antagonise the other side. You don’t want to give them anything because managers will use anything to inspire their players or wind them up.
“Then you get to the stage, the day before the game, when you think, ‘Bring it on. I’m ready now!’ Then you wake up on the morning of the game thinking, ‘Wow! This is horrible again!’ You sit there for three hours thinking, ‘Have I picked the right team? What happens if this happens? What will I do if that happens?’ And that’s a long period.
“Then, as soon as you get into the stadium with the players, you’re thinking, ‘Right, here we go again’. So there’s a rollercoaster of emotions. Then the players go out for this half an hour warm up and you’re left sitting by yourself - again - with these same thoughts in your mind. Then, when the game starts it’s wonderful. The challenge is there and you get on with it. Most of the time you’re oblivious to what’s going on around you.”
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