Mark McGhee speaks out over past managerial positions

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The last two appointments by Mark McGhee to managerial appointments at Bristol Rovers and Aberdeen have left a blot on Mr. McGhee’s CV, and he knows it. The newest appointee Gordon Strachan knows that his job as Scotland’s number 2 won’t be easy, and that he’ll have questions to answer to rebuild confidence.

The announcement from McGhee came from Hampden, and he stated that his recent picks that became managerial failures haven’t dampened his confidence going forward. To show this, he directly challenged the assertion from Stewart Regan, SFA chief executive, that the goal of the new management team is to prevent Scotland from finishing last in the World Cup.

He said that his goals for the team are not even close to finishing last, and that wasn’t even part of this thought process. Rather he said he was aiming quite a bit higher. In the end, it comes down to the players, and they have matured, McGhee said. He cited Craig Levein as an example, and said that there is a growing nucleus of players who are playing at an ever higher level and continue to improve.

While he’s used to be the one in complete charge, he is okay with his role under Strachan. Anyone who knows McGhee, knows that he wants to have his say, but he understands that Gordon is the manager. According to him, he’ll do his job to support and counsel as best he can.

Then he clarified by saying that it wouldn’t be actually like giving Gordon advice. It would be more like giving of information or intelligence. Following in the vein of spy terminology, he also said that his job would be to soak up all kinds of information about opposing teams and players and present this to Gordon in a neat and orderly dossier.

Mark McGhee delighted at becoming Scotland’s number 2

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Mark McGhee is aware he has some rebuilding to do as far as his reputation is concerned, but he’s not particularly worried about it. He’s been named as assistant coach by Scotland’s Gordon Strachan, and both men seem delighted with the situation. Strachan says McGhee will be a great asset to the team; McGhee says he’s very excited by the challenge and what he sees as a real possibility of taking Scotland to the Euro Championships in 2016.

McGhee has had a rather checkered career since he retired from play and started managing. He has had some great seasons, but he’s also had more than a couple of not-great-at-all periods, the last one with the Bristol Rovers, who sacked him in December. However this doesn’t seem to bother him either. He said that he’s honoured to be chosen for this job and expects to do a great deal better than just keeping Scotland off the bottom; he believes they can do far better than that..

For his part, Strachan says that the team needs to start out with a positive frame of mind and the attitude that gaining international respect is a goal worth working for. He said Mark has the same philosophy and that his (Mark’s) enthusiasm will be a big asset. The two have been friends for a long time, and as former Scotland manager Craig Brown maintains, it’s best when colleagues are also friends. Brown commented, “They say football is an old pals act and it is.”

McGhee says he’s confident in the calibre of Scotland players; he said he had done some scouting for Scotland’s former manager Craig Levein (prior to Strachan taking the job just last week) so he knows there is “. . . a very exciting squad of players to work with . . .”. His vision of the future for team Scotland matches up nicely with Strachan’s; they hope to rise in the ranks – all the way to the top.