The only time Andy Gray fell out with Jim McLean in his time at Dundee United was on the day his departure was sealed.
Their touching bond was evident in how hard each found it to end their two-year partnership.
Gray, who turns 67 today, was off to England, where he would be a huge hit with Aston Villa, and McLean told of the “sad day” he left Tannadice.
The pair had always got along – the Glaswegian was a “model professional” – but the day of the deal brought a heated exchange that left Gray fearing for his place in the Tangerines team.
“We were due to play Celtic the following day but, from the moment I arrived at the ground for training, on the Friday morning, the boss was on my top,” Gray told us in 1977.
“Normally, he could get the best out of me on the field by applying pressure.
“But this seemed to me to be entirely different. This was out-and-out moaning for the sake of moaning.
“Then to round off, he shouted to me before I left the ground, ‘Where can I get in touch with you this afternoon?’.
“Now, he knew well enough. Without fail, every time we played in Glasgow, I stayed at my mother’s house in Drumchapel on the Friday night.
“So I snapped back at him, ‘My mum’s, where else?’ and left feeling more than a little disturbed.”
Andy Gray gets ‘the devastating news’ from Jim McLean
Gray, whose 16-year career would also see him star for Wolves, Everton and Rangers, feared “the chop” or disciplinary action when he answered a call from McLean that night.
He said: “I was sure my worst fears had been realised when the boss’s first words to me were, ‘You don’t need to play against Celtic tomorrow, if you don’t want to’.
“Before I could think clearly enough to give him a reply, though, he followed that up with the devastating news. ‘The fact is, we’ve agreed terms for you with Aston Villa.”
First and foremost, he’s a very fine youngster and, in my opinion, the best player I’ve ever seen.”
Jim McLean, speaking in 1977.
Jim McLean knew he could not hold on to Gray any longer but was clearly sorry to see his striker go, as our archive interview with the United legend makes clear.
“It would have been most unfair if I or the Dundee United board had rejected Aston Villa’s offer, even though we sold him at much less than he would have fetched had he played with a big Glasgow club,” McLean said.
“Throughout his spell at Tannadice, Andy behaved at all times like a model professional.
“There was one occasion, I remember, when he even offered to resign for us without even asking to see the contract.
“It was the beginning of his second full season with us.
“I called him up to my office, told him what I wanted to chat about, and watched, amazed, as he immediately pulled out his pen.
“‘Don’t you even want to know what we’re offering in wages?’ I said. ‘It’ll be the same as all the other lads, so that’ll be all right’, he said.
“It would be a great life for a manager if all players were like that!”
“Of course, it was a sad day for me when Andy finally left Tannadice,” McLean added.
“First and foremost, he’s a very fine youngster and, in my opinion, the best player I’ve ever seen.
“Maybe not the most skilful, it’s true. But possessing the greatest attitude, enthusiasm and will to win of anyone I’ve come across.
“But how could we keep him, drawing crowds of four and five thousand every week?
“Besides, and let me make this point most emphatically, neither I nor Dundee United ‘made’ Andy Gray. He owed us nothing.
“We simply polished up the natural brilliance that was already there.
“We might have helped along his general fitness and understanding of the theory of the game, but that’s all.
“What a player he is! You could cross 20 balls to Andy, for instance, and at least 15 of them would be tucked away beautifully.
“Any other player would be happy to connect properly with three or four.”
Gray scored 19 times in 37 matches in his first season at United and 26 times in 46 appearances in his second, earning his 1975 move to Villa at the age of 19.
The man with outstanding aerial ability was heading for greater heights.
And he left with the best wishes of everyone at Tannadice, it seems – the players and his manager.
“I’ve always had a great notion for the lad, both as a player and a person,” McLean, with something like paternal pride, goes on to say.
“In his time here, he never caused bother by asking away or getting up to any high jinks.
“The letter he sent me after he joined Villa will be tucked away as one of my favourite souvenirs.
“And, I’ll tell you this, all the Dundee United players still ask for Aston Villa’s result before any other on a Saturday night.
“The second question always is, ‘Did Andy get any?'”
Auf Wiedersehen, Andy?
Gray is currently working as a pundit for beIN Sports, covering the World Cup in Qatar.
He nearly moved abroad during his playing days, however.
WHAT. A. TEAM. 💫#beINSquad pic.twitter.com/tTDonfaJxo
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) October 20, 2022
His transfer to Aston Villa came hard on the heels of talks with a German side that fell through, as our archive interview reveals.
“Now, not many people know this but, the previous weekend, I’d been locked in discussions with a top German club, Schalke 04, all day Sunday in one of Glasgow’s swankiest hotels,” Gray said.
“My brother, Willie, and I were treated like kings by their officials. But, in the end, I decided I wasn’t ready for a move abroad.
“And I can tell you, it took one, long sleepless night in another top hotel, this time in Birmingham, before I agreed to join Ron Saunders at Villa Park.
“What swayed me finally, though, was the similarity to Jim McLean in terms of his know-how, ambition and understanding,” the striker added, revealing the high regard he had for McLean.
So Gray was headed for fame and fortune in England’s Second City, his time by the Tay was up.
But there were no hard feelings and it was goodbye, not sorry, that seemed to be the hardest word.
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