It’s always good to see local lads doing well so Dundonian Stephen Glass becoming manager of Aberdeen is a terrific boost for those who follow the careers of former players from this area.
Glass is taking Celtic skipper Scott Brown with him as player coach at Pittodrie and both have them have a winning mentality, while Brown has a collection of medals that needs its own spare room.
Very little is guaranteed in football, no matter how experienced folk are or aren’t in management.
Winning mentality
One thing is sure though – a lack of a winner’s mentality can be crippling and will spread through a club.
With these appointments, the Dons have installed two men with a burning desire to be the best and to be winners. That is crucial.
🔴 Former Scotland captain Scott Brown signs pre-contract with Aberdeen in player-coach role.#StandFree
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) March 25, 2021
Modern football can provide tools undreamt of previously.
Data analytics, sports scientists and psychologists, heat maps, distance trackers and artificial intelligence injury predictors are all available.
The human factors that remain untouched by modern developments though are the will to win and hunger to be successful.
If Stephen Glass and Scott Brown can bring those to Pittodrie then Aberdeen will be a force to be reckoned with.
County coup
Less well publicised than Glass’s appointment was Dundonian Maurice Ross becoming assistant manager at Notts County.
The oldest football league club in the world are nowhere near as successful as neighbours Forest but once averaged crowds of over 34,000.
Ross, who won 13 Scotland caps during his playing career, has built a solid coaching reputation.
And hopefully this move propels his managerial career to bigger things.
Dundee’s Charlie Adam, like Glass, is a Fintry boy and I expect him to also take the path into football management very soon.
I think all three men have potentially bright futures as bosses.
Scotland need a win in Israel on Sunday if our World Cup qualification hopes aren’t already to be in some jeopardy.
The 2-2 Hampden draw against Austria – with a superb header and a peerless overhead kick to share the spoils – isn’t a bad result but it means any leeway is already narrowed in the competition.
We can argue about the merits of who should and shouldn’t be in the squad, but all we can demand of a manager is that he picks players who have the appetite and desire to wear the shirt with pride and commitment.
‘We showed character and purpose’
Not that long ago many of us were losing the will to watch an underperforming national side.
I think that’s changing.
Although many in this neck of the woods hoped to see Ryan Gauld, Jason Kerr and Shaun Rooney in the squad, Steve Clarke has put together a decent band.
I thought all three were worth a shout but, along with Lawrence Shankland, they were overlooked this time.
Scotland in good shape
However, there’s been sufficient progress under Clarke to have faith in what he’s doing with this team.
To come back twice from a goal down shows a growing sense of character and purpose about the side, and although in football the wheels are always just one loose nut away from coming off the wagon, this Scotland outfit looks in better shape than for some time.
Scotland analysis: Eric Nicolson’s 3 talking points from World Cup qualifier against Austria
