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DAILY TELEGRAPH
THE INSIDE VIEW: A CONTENTED DRESSING ROOM
by James Beattie
21-02-04
As Gordon Strachan, our former manager said a couple of weeks ago, the person who takes the helm at Southampton will inherit one of the best managerial positions in the Premiership.
We don't know for certain who that person will be - but comments attributed to me yesterday regarding Glenn Hoddle were taken out of context. I have made no such comment since Mr Strachan's departure. They are comments dredged up from two years ago when Glenn was here. It is a pity that they have been peddled as yesterday's quotes. They are wrong. I am a committed Southampton player, and a member of a very contented dressing room.
Much of that is the legacy from the Strachan era. He was disciplined, but he was also able to step into the role of being one of the lads at times. Not an easy switch. He was in charge, and you never really forgot it. Nor would you want to transgress his guidelines. Without him having to say it, you knew that if you stepped out of line, you would get rapped in no uncertain terms.
Gordon is a man's man. He always acknowledged that the most difficult part of his job was picking the team. In his own long playing career he was nothing other than a wholehearted team man, and a great player to boot. He had an honesty about him. He would always say what he felt, as we often witnessed in post-match interviews, sometimes with alarmingly blunt humour. But he could also take it on the chin himself.
He was still fit enough to join in training on a regular basis. When he got something wrong, he was able to take a pop at himself. A couple of times, too, he got horribly clattered in tackles in training but he just picked himself up, swore under his breath, and got on with the game.
He has fire about him, and I got on with him in that respect, and he encouraged it in me. Little things count, and he never used to discourage any player from using their individuality. When he announced he would be stepping down, it was a shock.
Southampton was his ship, and it has been set up and is sailing its course. In playing terms, the greatest change he brought about was insisting we get more crosses into the box. And I mean insisted. We now have more goal-scoring chances.
Fitness, too, is another major Strachan passion. Pre-season, in fact the whole season, is a nightmare with the Strachan fitness regime. Speed endurance, over and over again. Long runs. Pain. But it made a difference. He got involved in that as well, and on the long distance runs, he was never last. The players will remember him for his wit, and his passion for the game. The fans - his antics on the sidelines and the success he created.
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