Paul Hegarty believes that Jim McLean fully deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the top managers Britain has ever produced.
The legendary former Tangerines captain was speaking yesterday at Tannadice helping publicise a new film that will be shown on BBC ALBA on Saturday, May 20 at 9pm.
It is called Tannadice 87 and marks the 30th anniversary of the unforgettable year United made it all the way through to the UEFA Cup Final beating the mighty Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach along the way.
They lost over the two legs in the final to Gothenburg but made millions of friends around the continent in the process with the club’s fans also later receiving FIFA’s first-ever Fair Play Award.
Hegarty believes what McLean masterminded was nothing short of remarkable and he ranks him alongside other renowned bosses.
He said: “Jim McLean should be right up there with the top managers Britain has produced, no doubt about that.
“He deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson.
“When you look at the resources he had, what he did was incredible.
“His tactics and knowledge of the game were second to none.
“He had a photographic memory. He would tell you about things you’d done in the game you couldn’t remember.
“He was brilliant at getting you fit and the only part of him that could have been better was the man-management side.
“But what he did was remarkable.
“Celtic and Rangers were the kingpins, but we came along and upset the applecart.
“I know he called United a corner shop and that probably helped him because everyone thought he was right.”
Hegarty admits that United and McLean ultimately benefited from the patience shown in the manager by the board at the time.
He added: “You have to remember it took him a long time to get where we got to. He arrived in 1971 and didn’t win anything until 1979.
“It took eight years to win the League Cup and the board stuck by him for all that time because they believed in what he was doing.
“I remember we lost to Willie McLean’s Motherwell team – his brother – and the fans were baying for his blood. They wanted him out.
“But he had a strong board and a strong chairman who stuck by him – and look what happened.
“These days a manager is lucky to get eight months.
“Managers these days don’t get time, so you have to applaud the board at United for sticking by him.
“These days, what happened here probably wouldn’t get to happen because managers don’t get the time to build the way he did.”
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Paul Hegarty writes the foreword to a new Courier book, The Final Countdown, celebrating Dundee United’s UEFA Cup run of 1986/87. Click here for more information and to order
