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Personal

Fullname: Gordon David Strachan
aka: Gordon Strachan, WGS (Wee Gordon Strachan)
Height: 5.06
Weight: 10.06
Born: 9 Feb 1957
Birthplace: Muirhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
Position: RHS Midfielder (attacking)
Internationals: Scotland (50 caps, 5 goals)
Manager: 1 June 2005 - 25 May 2009

"I don't know if there is another big club where the supporters have a love like the supporters have a love for this club." WGS on the Celtic fans (quote taken from "Celtic Minded 2" (book), 2006)

Player

During his playing career he played for

• Dundee (1974-1977),
• Aberdeen (1977-1984),
• Manchester United (1984-1989),
• Leeds United (1989-1995) and
• Coventry City (1995-1997).

He won 50 international caps for Scotland and is in the Scotland Football Hall of Fame.

Gordon Strachan was an aggressive, skilful right-sided midfield player.

Career

Club _________	From __________	To __________	Fee	League _______	_______	FA Cup _______		League cup__		Other _______	_______
Coventry	22-03-1995	31-05-1997	Free	13 (13)	0	2 (1)	0	3 (1)	0	0 (0)	0
Leeds	23-03-1989	22-03-1995	£ 300,000	188 (9)	37	14 (0)	2	19 (0)	3	14 (1)	3
Man Utd	13-08-1984	23-03-1989	£ 500,000	155 (5)	33	23 (0)	2	12 (1)	1	10 (2)	3
Aberdeen	01-11-1977	13-08-1984	£ 50,000	175 (8)	55	25 (0)	7	43 (3)	20	30 (4)	7
Dundee	01-01-1971	01-11-1977	Junior	56 (13)	13	7 (0)	1	11 (2)	1	1 (1)	0
Totals			£ 850,000	587 (48)	138	71 (1)	12	88 (7)	25	55 (8)	13
			goals / game	0.21		0.16		0.26		0.20
	________	________	__________	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps____	Goals	Apps	Goals

Management

WGS became Coventry City's Director of Football in November 1996

He finally retired as a player at the end of the season after making his last appearance at the age of 40, a record in the English Premiership.

Strachan kept Coventry in the Premiership until 2001, when they finally went down after 34 years of top division football. He was sacked shortly after the start of the 2001-02 Division One campaign.

Gordon Strachan returned to management within weeks, taking the manager's job at Southampton - after Strachan's appointment in October 2001, they finished 11th in the Premiership.

In 2002-03 when they finished eighth and reached the FA Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Arsenal, but since Arsenal had qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Southampton qualified for the 2003-04 UEFA Cup.

In March 2004, Gordon Strachan announced his resignation as Southampton manager, earlier than intended because he wanted to spend time with his family.

When Berti Vogts stepped down as Scottish national coach, Strachan was widely tipped to take over until Walter "Wattie" Smith got the job, and he was even linked with the manager's job at Portsmouth, but turned down the offer to take over.

Strachan analysed football matches for the media, most notably on the BBC's Match of the Day 2. Renowned for his deadpan humour as much as his shrewd tactical awareness, quotes attributed to Strachan have become legendary among football supporters.

As Celtic Manager

Gordon Strachan finally returned to management on 1 June 2005, when he succeeded Martin O'Neill as manager of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League (SPL).

He resigned on 25 May 2009, after 4 years in charge having won the league three times in a row, but failing a day earlier to make it 4 in a row.

	PREMIER LEAGUE							CIS LEAGUE CUP						SCOTTISH CUP						EUROPE						TOTALS
SEASON	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	P	W	D	L	F	A	P	W	D	L	F	A	P	W	D	L	F	A	P	W	D	L	F	A
2005-06	38	28	7	3	93	37	91	4	4	0	0	9	2	1	0	0	1	1	2	2	1	0	1	4	5	45	33	7	5	107	46
2006-07	38	26	6	6	65	34	84	2	1	1	0	3	1	5	5	0	0	13	3	8	3	1	4	9	10	53	35	8	10	90	48
2007-08	38	28	5	5	84	26	89	2	1	0	1	2	3	4	2	1	1	9	3	8	3	0	5	7	10	52	34	6	12	102	42
2009-09	38	24	10	4	80	33	82	4	4	0	0	9	1	3	2	0	1	4	3	6	1	2	3	4	7	51	31	12	8	97	44
TOTALS	152	106	28	18	322	130	346	12	10	1	1	23	7	13	9	1	3	27	11	24	8	3	13	24	32	201	133	33	35	396	180

First season (2005-06)

For 2005-06, his stated aim was to regain the SPL title off current holders (Rangers).

Things didn't exactly get off swimmingly, and an embarrassing start to his campaign as Celtic manager losing 5-0 to Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava on 27 July 2005 and 3 days later only managing to draw 4-4 away to Motherwell in his first SPL match in charge of the Glasgow club. A few days later he recorded his first win in charge as Celtic won 4-0 in the return leg of the Champions League qualifier. However, that was not enough to avoid being put out of Europe before the season had got started in earnest. For many, these set of matches have marked for both him and them how his mentality has been set with governing the side's tactics.

Nevertheless, Celtic continued to improve under Strachan, leading the SPL by as much as 20 points despite playing with a defence that came under regular criticism from the media and fans. Rangers were in turmoil as Alex McLeish lurched from one disaster to another. Two notable victories over Rangers in November (scoring 5 goals and conceding none) was a gem of time, and saw the emergence of Maloney as a front runner for the team.

Not all went our way, and another low-point was the shock defeat in the third-round of the Scottish Cup to First Division Clyde on 8 January 2006. However, the following month his team made history when they beat Dunfermline Athletic 8-1, a record victory margin for the SPL. Over a spell after beating Rangers twice in November, we went through a poor spell for two months where we went behind in too many games, but thankfully fought back in but worse was that we kept on conceding goals in all the games. It was not until we played against Rangers in mid-February that we had a game we didn't concede a goal in. We were winning games but the weaknesses of the side were beginning to be seen, and in many ways they were the weaknesses that were to begin to haunt us for over the next couple of seasons also.

An important point that has to be made is that this was a season of transition, and anyone taking over from Martin O'Neil as manager was going to have a hard task in front of them (a lot to live up to). Spats with Sutton and Agathe, saw both leave prematurely as both could have contributed more. On the other hand, the players have to take in that the old regime is over and you have to understand and work with the new regime. With the less than stellar achievements of both after leaving Celtic, maybe WGS was right. Sutton in particular is a prickly character and not predictable, so maybe it was best to move him on.

Overall, Strachan's first season was ultimately successful as he coached Celtic to victory in the Scottish League Cup and, on 5 April 2006, his side clinched the SPL title in record time and with six matches remaining. A difficult year of transition, but he'd won most over to his side at this point.

Reflecting this achievement, Strachan was voted 'manager of the year' by the Scottish Football Writers' Association 8 days after the title was clinched.

However, this was just the beginning and much better was expected of both him and the team in the next season.

Second season (2006-07)

His second season was even more of a roller coaster compared to his first, with excuses out the window for many, and the arrival of Paul le Guen (PLG) seen by the press as leading “le revolution” at Rangers to challenge us. To the surprise of practically everyone, there was no actual domestic challenge. Rangers went comedic from failure to tragic farce, and Celtic simply took advantage being over 20 points ahead of them at one point in the season. In Old Firm games, the best PLG did was one draw. The Hearts revolution was also a joke with their challenge petering out before it had even began. Knocked out early in the league cup was no issue, and WGS easily made it up with winning the Scottish Cup to wrap up a double cup and league. Overall, WGS was having a respite domestically.

The Champions league was where its at, and here he excelled. A tough group saw us win all 3 home games, with a special victory against Man U which led us to qualify from the Group stages for the first time! On the other hand, we were pish away from home and lost all 3 games, with WGS stating that he knew the problem and would have it resolved. The next round v AC Milan was very special for us all, and WGS held to what he said and we didn’t concede in 180mins of football, but sadly didn’t score either. Ultimately, we were outdone by a classic goal by Kaka in extra time. A sad way to go out, but a great achievement by WGS and he deserves all the credit in the world.

Regardless of the above, a lot of criticism must also be put at WGS for his second season. The quality of football in the last third of the season was appalling, and the effort was non-existent. Rangers’ new manager (Walter Smith) had the better of WGS with a very comfortable win in the last Old Firm game of the season, but also we lost in some very very drab games.

A number of the signings were also very poor for that season, Gravesen, Miller and Jarosik in particular, whilst Jan Venegoor of Hasselink was injured too often. A spat with Maloney over new contracts saw us lose a great new wee player, and the defense was as bad at the end of the season as at the start. Appeared to bamboozle and patronise fans on many occasions with his team selections, and what appeared to be a continuing spat with Riordan saw the player play few games and being overshadowed by the far less productive Miller. A round of boos as Riordan was taken off in one match late in the season was evidence of this.

Many fans were simply disillusioned by WGS at the end, and putting an end to the rubbish that the fans didn’t like him as he wasn’t a “Celtic man” (lazy journalism), it was all because of the criticisms as I've said above. A real roller coaster of a season.

Third season (2007-08)

• Full 2007-2008 Season review

For WGS, this season had seen him lose the support of most of the fans. However the death of Tommy Burns and his near breakdown after his loss (a close friend and work colleague) showed a side of WGS which many had not seen before in his time here. We all felt for him and just how much the job and the club really did mean to him. Winning the league against the odds (big big odds at that!) appeared to have moved the fans and split the fans opinion on him whether to stay or go at the end of it all.

This season for WGS can be termed a success on paper. To quote him, the team achieved what he set out at the start of the year to do. On paper, we won the league (three in a row) and we got through the Champs League group stages again (two in a row) which cemented us as being more than just a flash in the pan side as others in the past have been. We sold hapless Kenny Miler for £3m (amazing!), we brought in a few quality players like Barry Robson, we beat the Huns twice at home in very entertaining games and so on. Adding in that we were seven pts (plus a game played more) behind the huns going into the end of the season, WGS must be given his due, even by his harshest critic, for leading the team to somehow comeback and win the league! We won our last seven games (which included 2 wins v the Huns) and got our pride back. That can’t be smirked at by anyone, and the last win came just a week after Tommy Burns death (not an easy time).

At the end of the day though, his style of football was uninspiring and unentertaining, and he seemed to stick with some players way beyond what he should have (e.g. Caldwell, Donati, JVoH), possibly showing an inability to accept criticism and that he had been wrong. A public rift with Derek Riordan depicted an unsettled atmosphere in the changing room although other comments by players, like Mark Wilson, Pressley and Venegoor, said otherwise praising WGS for his man management skills. Bringing in Barry Robson into the Celtic team seemed to show admission that he needed steel in a lightweight side (and what a change he made to the team), whilst Hartley was a revelation this season and deserves all the praise in the world. Boruc as ever was great, but a kick up the back side was needed as it took him a year to get a game where he didn’t lose a goal away from home.

Allegations were thrown at the Celtic support that we were spoilt (see this story) and that we didn’t like WGS as he wasn’t a Celtic man! Complete balderdash and its simply sloppy journalism. The fans pay up good money to watch Celtic and many a time the performances were dreadful to watch with the manager unwilling to admit change was needed and seemed to anger many, esp when he criticised the fans for not understanding what he was trying to do. The zonal play was not working, the formations weren’t working and certain players need a kick up the backside. We lost v Inv Caley when we were two ahead, we lost against Hibs, Motherwell and even struggled in games v Gretna. We lost the first two games v Rangers, with poor tactics amongst other points to blame for it. Transfers weren’t working out, esp the enigma that is Donati. Taking in we’d spent more money than the huns, it was embarrassing to be behind in the league and watching them going to the end for a very undeserved potential quadruple (which thankfully they didn't achieve).

Adding all this up and WGS has to take the flak. However, as said his emotions after Tommy Burns showed his real self to us and we all felt for him. In my opinion, this season may have shown him to be more of a coach than a great manager, but unlike the other pundits on television at least he puts his money where his mouth is and takes up the challenge of football management. Moving on to next season he should learn from what has happened and become a full manager.

Must be said, any manager who wins three in a row must be doing something right, so maybe the critics amongst the fans are wrong and he’s right. A late find in Barry Robson was a revelation, whilst bringing Lennon into the coaching staff has seemed to freshen things up. WGS can be quite an enigma, but moving into the next season more entertaining football really was a requirement.

Fourth Season (2008-2009)

• Full 2008-09 Season review

So, was WGS to cement his name as a legend at Celtic by achieving the coveted "4-in-a-row" of league titles? But more important how was his relationship with the fans going to develop this year? It was a (near) clean sheet for many on WGS after the emotional end to last season.

Before the season even began, rumblings (as usual) had begun about WGS and his transfers. Few buys to excite the fans made many apprehensive about the hope for greater entertainment, but in general the mood was that despite everything we were going to win the league (confidence was high).

The season started off rather easilyuntil the first Old Firm game where basically we were turned over (at home) 4-2 and lucky not to have lost by more. We were hopeless, and the daggers were out for the manager. The pent up frustration from sections of the crowd was released in one big explosion, and the tone was decidedly frosty for the rest of the season with respect to the manager's relationship with the fans. Not a good start.

Nevertheless followed on from there was acracking set of gameswhich saw us take advantage and overhaul Rangers to go top of the league. There was some great football in the first third of the season, and was the best to watch Celtic for a few seasons at least.

Anyhow, the big headaches of the season began with injuries besetting the manager in his aim to overhaul Rangers. Credit to WGS as his policy of squad numbers above single big signings didpay off which enable us to be able to squad rotate players to cover for gaps in the side and keep our nose in front. Amazingly we went 7pts at the end of November, and December became the brightest time of the season and it was capped off with a 1-0 victory against the Huns. . Chuffing great! We thought we were set up for the rest of the campaign. How we were to be disappointed.

During all this was our Champions league escapade. A poorfinal set of results saw us finish bottom and again fail to win any of our away games(see link for full write-up). After 4 years, WGS still hadn't managed an away win in Europe, something that can't be put down to bad luck alone, and something that was noticeable to all. We got the breaks last season, this time we didn't.

Back to the league, where did it all begin to go wrong? Basically from the turn of the new year, yet WGS seemed to do little.

What was going on?To our surprise, WGS summarised the situation well in a post-match interview: "You have to determine your own destiny. The eyes of the football world are upon us all. The question being asked is, 'Are you a team that plays just when everything is right for you?' That can't happen. The best way for us to recover is to get back on form as quickly as possible." (Mar 09)

However, he quickly turned back to old ways by stating in an interview a few weeks later: "If anyone can find a negative - and I'm sure they will - then they are warped!" after the Dundee utd game in April where we drew 2-2. Clearly and sadly showed a dividing line between the management and the fans.An unnecessary dig andit was an unworkable relationship. The comment post-match was very insulting and patronising to the support (and uncalled for). Difficult to see how things were going to mend easily for many. Why exactly did WGS have to patronise and insult the support? Only he could answer this question, but best left to end of season.

Added to that, complaints about lack of entertaining football were being swatted away with abandonment: "In terms of entertainment, yes, we do have responsibilities at Celtic and Rangers, because we have greater resources than most clubs up here to entertain, But most of the songs that the supporters sing are all about winning trophies — they don't sing nice wee ditties about the beautiful game. No one remembers the beautiful football, but they do remember the defeats." This line seemed to show his distance from the Celtic ideal.

One nice break for us was the league cup final, beating the Huns in extra-time, with both goals scored by our Irish internationals (O'Dea & McGeady).

From then on in, little went right for us again, and after dropping points, we were up against Rangers to see who was to win the league. The final league game v Rangers was a failure, losing one-nil and from then on the writing was on the wall.

We'd lost the league to a poor Rangers side. Our players did not perform, and the apathy around the club was heart-breaking. It was overalla poor season with underperforming players.

The football was generally poor to watch and it had been a continual complaint over the past few years. For many who were tried of the turgid football on display this was a bit much, and swathes of empty seats at Celtic matches became the norm rather than exception. With the global credit crunch beginning and hitting one and all, it was not a time to alienate the support. Yet WGS did, so why? Who knows? It doesn't require much to get on the side of the fans.

There are many reasons for the loss, but the manager has to take the flak and he was not one to ever take criticism lightly, being self-admittedly easily irritated. In fairness there were mitigating points, e.g. the loss of Barry Robson to injury has probably been more costly to us than we realised, as he was a strong driving force to the title run-in last season.

WGS handed in his resignation with little surprise the day after the league defeatand left rightly with his head held high for his achievements over the past seasons and uncharacteristically no smart remarks (thankfully). There was actually some sadness to see him go as there have been many good memories over his time. He had been the creator of his own downfall this season, and in his own reflection on this last season will have to admit, to himself at least, where he went wrong.

Review

So after all that, how should we take and look back on WGS? His predecessor is still lauded to this day, an in reflection Martin O'Neill's achievements have been hanging over WGS for his whole tenure at the club. Regardless, he has had to deal with them, and if truth be said, then WGS can argue that on paper at least he has exceeded what Martin O’Neill achieved. Not that WGS would but the argument of who was the better manager (WGS or MoN) was a never ending argument which is all academic now. Martin O’Neill was blessed to have Henrik Larsson so comparisons for WGS aren’t easy or likely fair.

Forgetting his predecessor, WGS had a few tasks to fulfil. Firstly, was to regenerate the squad and lower the costs, win the league back and get us further in Europe. On that score, he more than achieved what was set out. Wage costs were reduced, we won the league back and in time we achieved getting past the group stages in the Champs Lge two times in a row. Brilliant stuff. Winning the league three times in a row, plus outliving two Rangers managers is surely a sign of success, especially after the hoo-haa over Paul Le Guen's management signing. Add in some incredible achievements (e.g. in beating European Cup holders AC Milan for example and the Naka winner v Man U), and he can easily hold his head up high. We were spoilt with success at many points. He was the architect for the high points, and when they came off they were exceptional.

The most exciting game? Well there were many. WGS himself said that the Spartak Moscow win in 2007 was the most exciting and many would agree.

He also helped to foster the careers of some of the younger players, such as Maloney, McManus, McGeady & Wilson, and in reflection they will be thankful for the role that WGS has played in their careers. WGS likely had been the best developer of youngsters we'd had for the past twenty years or longer. Billy McNeil was the last to have done well with youngsters in the squad.

So why is the mood relatively more negative over WGS than an outsider would expect? Much of it has been reflected above in the season reviews. The fans can be said to have been very patient with him, but the truth is that the football in general was poor to watch and after 4 years of that, what are the fans to say? He failed with a number of big transfers, and many players seemed to have declined under him rather than improved. Many fans take the belief that he couldn’t coach well; confusing squad rotations and team selections have likely baffled players as much as fans, and the last season was woeful in many ways, throwing away huge leads. Tackling Rangers in his last two seasons shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was. We were far better, yet we tripped up in both seasons and only got out of jail in the first time.

He has never helped himself with a number of his post-match remarks either, the “warped” comment in particular was particularly poor judgement. He readily admits that he is easily irritated, but he’s been in football for over twenty years and has worked in the media for some time, so he should have been able to know how to deal with it. Yet he couldn't!

We all agree that “ned-culture” has been on the rise, and WGS in particular has been very vocal on this issue, taking journalists to task on occasion as well. However, when you give a flippant remark to a question or thinly veil snide remarks to others, then how different is he really to them? Bit extreme, but the point stands and he has ended up making things worse for himself. We all hate neds but he made too much of a crusade of it at times.

Celtic is a social community club. We are a cross-section of society, so admittedly have our share of nefarious characters, but we try to push and emphasise the roots of the club, in terms of charity and community. Winning is not the only aim, it’s also about the ineffable “play the Celtic Way”. WGS has not seemed to comprehend this, and dismisses criticisms of his tactics stating that others don’t understand what he is trying to do. Nonsense. His "win at the cost of entertainment" style may find favour in the cut-throat English championship but not at Celtic. That in itself has been what has been the crux of the friction between the support and WGS, and that was what created his downfall. From the outside, everything is rosy as we won trophies but it's about more than that with us.

WGS is actually a very decent man. The players all spoke very highly of him, and there was little if any dissent (McGeady apart) from any, even from those who left prematurely. All fans who seem to have met him have commented well on him. Away from it all, a long interview in Dec 2008 with Radio Scotland brought out his good side and there’s a lot to respect about him. However, that’s not the full qualification to be a successful football manager, and WGS is likely just below that level which we all wish he was it. Maybe if he had spent some time with some great managers learning their skill, he could have been a far better manager. He was a player with Man U and Aberdeen with Alex Ferguson, but his coaching began at Leeds (under the dour Howard Wilkinson) and then Coventry etc, and sadly it’s those latter clubs that his style stems from.

A important point must be noted that WGS is the first Celtic manager to have to grapple with the new media. Yes, I know that Martin O’Neill was manager when the internet got going, but it was in its infancy through most of MoN's reign, and the scale and importance in which the internet has taken in WGS' time has meant that he has another task to take on. It’s not easy anymore. Replays and events are dissected more thoroughly and for longer than ever before. There are cameras to capture everything, statisticians to tally up the most mundane of figures and heated wipe-spread discussion begin on the matches before it's even over (on the forums) and not hours later in the pub as it all used to. Sky Sports is everywhere, and unconscious comparison with richer foreign leagues is rising, which doesn’t help with our limited resources. Sadly, that is the future, and WGS has been the first to deal with it and few seemed to sit back and notice. Maybe if they did then he’d have been cut more slack.

His biggest mistake? Should have left at the end of 2007-08 season as many fans wanted. He stayed 12 mths longer than he should have, and that set in the rot which accelerated over time. At the end of it all, most fans wanted him gone, and it’s sad to see him have to leave us in that kind of environment. Much of it has been of his own creation, and his successor will have to rebuild the squad in much the same way that WGS himself had to when he himself began.

We hope WGS all the very best in the future, in whatever direction he takes. I'm sure from his honest comments that he grew to love the club, just at times his daft side too often got in the way. He is a good man, and for the good memories we will forever be thankful for, and there were plenty of them along the way. In time, we’ll at least miss his sense of humour from his interviews [see Quotes by and on Gordon Strachan].

He signed off with Celtic with a wonderful speech which contained the following great quote (from the Tommy Burn's tribute match, full wording below):

"I wasn't going to pretend I came here as a Celtic supporter. I don't believe in kissing badges to get your support. I didn't know the words of Fields of Athenry.... From today, I’ve become a Celtic supporter." Gordon Strachan (May 2009)

Honours as Celtic Manager

Scottish Premier League winner:

• 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08

Scottish Cup winner:

• 2007

Scottish League Cup winner:

• 2006, 2009

SPFA Manager of the Year:

• 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008-09
  

Pictures

• Picture Gallery

Quotes

• Quotes by and on Gordon Strachan

KStreet

• Departure thread (May 2009)
• Reflections on his management (May 2009)
  

Articles

• Autobiography Extracts (2006)
• WGS attacked by Celtic fan (1980), "Caught in time"
• WGS - Celtic Minded? by BobbyPeru
• Resignation & Departure (articles May 2009)

Strachan unveiled at Celtic May 31, 2005

(World Soccer magazine)
Celtic have unveiled Gordon Strachan as their new manager following last week's resignation of Martin O'Neill.

The former Southampton and Coventry manager succeeds Martin O'Neill who quit Celtic after Saturday's Scottish Cup final win over Dundee United to look after his ill wife.

Strachan, who has taken his former Southampton assistant Gary Pendry to Parkhead has signed a 12-month rolling contract.

"I need to apologise to people who have phoned me over the last five or six days," said Strachan. "It was Martin's time.

"I didn't want to get involved in anything; Martin deserved that time to win the cup and enjoy his last couple of days here.

"People have been asking me for years about whether I'd go back to Scotland and I thought maybe 'no'. But, manager of Celtic, in seconds it's 'yes' and that's it.

"They are a world famous club and you cannot turn down that chance to perform as a manager here and in a stadium as fantastic as this. It's a thing I just couldn't turn down.

"I do feel invigorated. I said when I stopped at Southampton, the next job I want is something exciting and this definitely had it. Even the wife could tell I was really excited about this job.

"You know it when somebody asks you if it's going to be theright job for you.

"It's a surreal thing with me and Martin. We spoke a lot on the phone and were together again last night with the coaching staff and had a great time. I was telling Fergie stories and he was telling Cloughie stories. He won on his stories but I'm sure I can exaggerate mine as the years go by.

"I'm proud to be asked to take this hard job to take over from Martin. Five years ago, it was maybe too much for me butnow I know it's not too much for me and I'm lookingforward to it."

Strachan was asked about his approach to management.

"Anything to do with players, I like. The rest is hard work. I like dealing with the players and I've got a big enough back-up staff to handle that.

"[Watching them] I reaffirmed some beliefs I had anyway. I could be more analytical about the games I watched.

"I've been around the world watching football fitness techniques. It's quite simple really. Have a good formation to stop you losing goals then get good players to win games. It's as simple as that, not as cosmic as coaches make out.

"They are actually giving themselves a pat on the back when their tactics are spot on but, when they lose, it's the players who are terrible.

"When I left Southampton, I think people thought I wanted a better job than Southampton but I wanted something different. We're right in there with different now.

"I know what I'm letting myself in for. It still doesn't deter me nor make me less excited.

"It's a magnificent challenge, a magnificent club with good people. It's a fantastic opportunity to become a better manager.

"Gary Pendry is to come along with me, he's been with me for eight years and will be my assistant. The rest of it is not a problem as I don't have to take a lot of people around with me. I'm quite happy to meet new people and they might just give me some new ideas too.

"My target is just to win. We have to win every game, all the time, friendlies and everything.

"It's a different mentality you've got when you come to this club and I have to get used to that myself.

"If I said last week, let's forget about how you play, let's win, they [the fans] would have accepted that.

"We'll try to make players as individuals and as a group better but we must win.

"I don't sit here thinking I hope everybody likes me. My responsibility is to the players, to get them working well, everyone else will follow.

"I can't worry every day if I've upset a fan or anything like that. There will be days when they like me and days when they don't.

"But they've got to remember they will only dislike me for the decisions I make sometimes, hopefully they will stay on a level keel with me as a person."

Strachan given rousing send-off at Burns tribute

(from official site)

Manager departs with rousing reception

David Friel
GORDON STRACHAN said thanks and farewell to the Celtic supporters during an emotional speech at the Tommy Burns Tribute Match on Sunday.

The former Hoops boss, who stood down last week, made a swift return to Glasgow to honour the life of his great friend and was given a standing ovation as he took to the pitch before kick-off.

Having won six trophies in four years and guided the club to historic European achievements, he has written his name into Celtic folklore and leaves with the best wishes of everyone at the club.

“Successful, really,” said Gordon, as he was asked to sum up his Celtic tenure in front of the 30,000 crowd.

“When I first joined the club, I wanted to earn the respect of the Celtic supporters. I didn’t want to tell you I was a Celtic supporter as a kid, I didn’t want to kiss badges and I didn’t know the words to the Fields of Athenry.

“I wanted to earn the respect and vice versa, I wanted to see if you really were the best supporters in the world. From those four years, I found out that you are the best supporters in the world.

“I’d like to thank the supporters who I met personally, the real ones who I touched. They helped through the tough times and made it far easier for my family. I’ll always remember that.

“I didn’t kid you on that I could ever feel like a Celtic supporter when I was the manager because I couldn’t. I really couldn’t tell you what it feels like to watch Rangers win nine-in-a-row.

“I couldn’t tell you what it feels like to go to some awful grounds, where you are penned into a corner and the price of everything goes up when you go there. I don’t know what that feels like.

“But from today, I will start to feel it because I’m going to have to start paying my way from now on. From today, I’ve become a Celtic supporter.

“I’d like to thank everybody at Celtic. The players were magnificent to work with and I’d like to thank the board. They have been magnificent and they are doing everything they can to help the club be successful. They were fantastic to me.

“If I could sum it all up like this – since I started out in football at 15, every decision I made, and some have been bad, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Because if I changed one of those decisions, I would not have been the Celtic manager and that would be hard. Thank you.”

Fittingly, the ex-Celtic boss also reserved a special word for his close friend Tommy Burns. The tribute match ended in an 11-4 win for the current Celtic team against a select side consisting of a host of Hoops legends.

He said: “I came here to be the Celtic manager but I was lucky enough to become the best of friends with the nicest man I’ve ever met in my life.

“We had some great times at this club over the last four years. We had smashing European nights, we won championships and did great things together. Tommy helped me more than anybody.

“If it hadn’t been for Tommy, my life wouldn’t have been as funny as it was and we wouldn’t have had as much success as we did.”