Simp-Lee the Best

by Lee McCulloch

  We went 2–1 up when David Thompson scored with a free-kick. And then Henry started trying and took over. He was on a hat-trick with a few minutes to go and Arsenal had a free-kick from a wide area, about thirty yards out. I was marking Henry inside the box and I remember he said to me that I would never beat him in the air and that he was going to score again. Well, he didn’t score from that set play but did get his third from the penalty spot. He had a sense of humour on the pitch and I found him to be a lovely guy. It was a great experience to play against him in his prime.

  Wonderfully gifted and one of the best players from the past twenty years in world football.

  Manager

  JOSÉ MOURINHO: I played against Chelsea a few times when he was the manager there. One game, at Stamford Bridge, sticks out in my mind. We lost 1–0. John Terry scored the goal. I was meant to be picking him up at the corner kick from which he scored. Later in the game, a Chelsea player poked me in the eye and I went to ground just in front of the dugouts. Paul Jewell and Mourinho had an argument about it. In the post-match press conference Mourinho accused me of cheating and it became headlines the next day. On one hand I wasn’t happy with him for labelling me a cheat, but on the hard hand I was buzzing he knew who I was.

  A top, top manager and I’ve hardly ever heard a player that has played for him say anything negative about him. A real players’ manager. I like that.

  23

  WHY I’LL GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THE GAME I LOVE

  AS I’M coming to the end of my career I’m conscious my body is not the same as it used to be, although in the 2012 pre-season – the twentieth of my career – I was once again in the top group for fitness and running. I take real pride in it and I’m really strict with my diet nowadays. Gone are the days of a Big Mac meal and a bottle of Irn-Bru and a packet of sweets on a Friday before match day. Although I have to confess, I do find it difficult to resist having a right few biscuits with a cup of tea.

  I’ve even taken a leaf out of David Weir’s book by only adding slimline tonic to a vodka on the odd occasion I have a drink. It still hits the spot quite nicely and I’ve seen me in a few states after a few large, but it’s all about the calories now and keeping the fat off. I certainly have matured on that front from the days when John Spencer joined Motherwell at the latter stages of his career and tried to get me off the lager and into wine. I followed his words of wisdom and got myself a pint of wine! Scary!

  In the past two or three years I have taken it all seriously. To try and prolong my career as long as possible, I’ve been doing gyrotonic as well, which is stretching your full body with machines and also a little bit of Pilates involved. Young ballet dancers do it to make themselves more supple, and I feel that everything I do helps. I find running to be very therapeutic and if I’m stressed or down, I’ll go for a forty-minute run to clear my mind. I’m still doing the boxing training and enjoy doing that with my friends, James and Martin Lyon, both from a lovely family.

  No matter what I try to do to help prolong my career, I know I can’t go on forever. I will start to put plans in place for when I hang up my boots but I’ve already started to do a few things for when that day finally arrives. I’m going through my UEFA Pro Licence just now and it’s something I see myself wanting to do in the future. Coaching and management definitely appeals. I have enjoyed the different aspects to the SFA coaching badges. It’s an excellent course. Obviously it involves lots to do with football but there are other aspects to it, such as making a lengthy presentation to the rest of the aspiring coaches and qualified coaches.

  Now, I’m still very shy. I’d love to be more outgoing but it’s just not in me. My parents and brothers aren’t like that. They are outgoing. Amanda and the kids are also very sociable and easy to talk to. I guess I must be a bit of a strange dude. I hate the way I am when it comes to that.

  Yet, if I ever become a coach or a manager, I know I will be able to stand up in front of twenty footballers and handle it no problem. I’ll put on a training session or give a team talk with my eyes shut. I’m relaxed when it comes to football, although not cocky, but ask me to do something formal in front of people I don’t really know and I become supremely shy. It’s so annoying. It’s something I’ve tried to work on. It will be an ongoing thing.

  At this stage of my life, I feel as if my career has just about gone full circle and I find myself being the way I was as a young YTS lad at Motherwell. I used to pester the senior players to teach me the game and now I’m pestering the coaches to teach me that side of it. I’ve got involved with the Youth set-up at Rangers and enjoy doing my bit at Murray Park with what I hope will be the next generation of players at our club. I’ve been closely observing training sessions and trying to get in on the conversations about their philosophies on this side of the game. The Rangers coaching staff at youth level – Jimmy Sinclair, Tommy Wilson, Billy Kirkwood and Craig Mulholland – must be sick of the sight of me and tired of me grilling them for information and any wee nuggets I can glean from them.

  My view is that coaching is an art, a thing of beauty, and tremendous satisfaction can be gained from putting on a training session that the squad of players enjoy and don’t want to end. Training sessions have to be full of quality and to achieve that there must be plenty of preparation.

  I would love the chance to be a manager in the future if I’m lucky enough, having been with a few great ones in my time, such as Billy Davies, Alex McLeish, Paul Jewell, Ally McCoist and Walter Smith. I will absolutely take a little bit of each of their styles with me. Although the game doesn’t change significantly, they have all been different in many ways.

  To give me as good a chance as possible, I’m learning French. A tutor comes to the house once a week to give me lessons. My sons are also involved as it will be good for them to have another language in their locker as they progress in life. We’ll do this every week for the next two years. I will do the SFA Media Course off my own back to have another string to my bow. Every bit helps, I feel.

  I’ve been working quite a bit with the Rangers Under-15 side and the coaches have been most helpful, patient and understanding with me. They can’t do enough for me. I’m thoroughly enjoying it all.

  Over the years, the youth system at Rangers has been on the receiving end of some stick from time to time but I suppose that’s just being at a big club. Perfection is demanded at every level but it’s impossible to produce that all the time. Still, the fruits of Murray Park are there for all to see. It’s a wonderful facility. It’s been there for more than a decade and has helped to produce some excellent players such as Alan Hutton, Charlie Adam and Allan McGregor, to name but a few. They were all top players for Rangers and have reached the top of their profession. We now have to hope the likes of Lewis McLeod, Robbie Crawford and Barrie McKay continue to show their excellent early promise and maintain their development into what I’m sure will be first-class players for Rangers. But I’ve told them time and time again not to take anything for granted and that this is just the start. I have reminded them of a startling statistic which is that only one per cent of footballers that join a club as a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old on a full-time basis actually still play full-time at thirty-five. I’ve told them the story Alex McLeish used to tell me and that they should not be sitting five years from now full of excuses and hard luck stories. ‘Be the guy on the telly, not the guy shouting at the telly.’ Be dedicated and always be ready to make sacrifices.

  The game has changed from the days when I was a lad at Motherwell. Youngsters are allowed to solely concentrate on football now. The days of cleaning boots, washing the manager’s car and painting the toilets are long gone. I actually think there was no harm in that kind of thing and I would still have the young players doing certain duties, but they are treated like diamonds from the start and that means some adopt the attitude they are sparkling footballers before they’ve even played a handful of first-team games.

  They are given the best opportunity to ma
ke the grade. They want for nothing, really. Sports science is a huge factor in all of football and that has resulted in some massive changes in the game in the past decade. I’m not having a pop at any of the sports science guys employed by a football club but when I was younger we used to run for forty or fifty minutes at a time, at a good pace, and have loads of sprints to do. Players sometimes dropped like flies and most would be sick at the side of the running track. But I believe that kind of thing was good. It helped to bring a togetherness in the squad and a mental toughness to individuals.

  There was a story that a high profile manager on his first day in charge told all the players to run on the track until he told them to stop. He sat on a seat at the sideline and watched. Watched until they dropped, one by one. He took a note of the names until he was down to his last six players still running. He ended up building his team around those six players as he thought they were mentally the toughest in his squad.

  There is a major emphasis on weight training and that involves a gym session every other day. Afternoons are spent in the gym rather than on the training field. I think somewhere along the way we have lost sight of the priorities of a footballer and what it takes to win football games. I remember Tony Fitzpatrick came away with a great saying a few years ago: ‘Hard work only beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’

  Because of the emphasis on weights and flexibility tests, lung tests, saliva tests, jump tests and blood tests, I wonder if the standard of the game has dropped from a while ago. It seems to be about fitness and physique first and then talent and ability next. If it continues down this road, players are going to need a motorbike on the pitch to keep up with the demands. Maybe I’m just saying that because I’m getting on a bit!

  I’m also wary of these enhancing products on the market now, the tablets and muscle builders that are thrown into players’ faces. I’m not so sure it’s wise to take stuff like that. I refuse to take the sachets and gels on offer at half-time during games. It’s a personal choice but I don’t want to pump my body full of stuff that will make my heart race faster. No thanks. We’ve seen enough sports people with heart trouble in recent years. The plus for me is that the sports science guys have brought in diet awareness across the board in football!

  Adam Owen is the Rangers sports scientist. He has played the game and also has his coaching badges. He is very good at his job, knows how to keep a happy medium to his philosophies. He is definitely up there with the best in his profession and is a sound guy.

  I like to try and stay fit and can’t see myself becoming a fat ex-footballer. But maybe I will turn into a retired guy with a massive belly and pat it every now and again and say, ‘Well, it’s all bought and paid for.’ That’s what my dad does. I would love to be a coach and love a go as a manager when I feel I’m ready but once I retire from football I will have a break and spend some time with the family. I feel I owe them a bit of uninterrupted quality time.

  Being a footballer has allowed me to go to some fantastic destinations but we rarely get to explore the cities. We land in the airport, get taken to the hotel, then to the stadium and back to the airport. When I retire from playing I’d like to take a couple of months off and go travelling. Doing a round-the-world cruise really appeals. I also want to visit a few places in America and South Africa. I love golf and if I get a few games under my belt, find a bit of form, I can play off 10. I’ve been fortunate enough to play on some lovely courses such as Royal Lytham, The Belfry and Celtic Manor. I want to play the Old Course at St Andrews – that’s an ambition, and so is getting a hole in one. I’ve hit the pin a few times, though. I grew up with golf and Gregor was the pro at Wishaw Golf Club. My heroes were Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam. I’d also love to go to America to sample a Ryder Cup. The last weekend in September, every second year, is the best viewing on television. I will get to it one day, for sure. I want to go to the Bernabéu to watch a Real Madrid v Barcelona game. El Classico. Can’t beat it. I was lucky enough to play at the Nou Camp but never Madrid’s ground. I always wanted to draw them in the Champions League.

  I want to switch off completely. Eat and drink as much as I want. Not do a single bit of exercise for a few months and be quite happy if I come back four stone heavier. Live the way I’ve wanted to live all my life. From the day my dad set out circuit training exercises for me in the house until I became a full-time player and had to always watch what I ate and what I drank because I was paranoid about my weight. I can go away on holiday and not worry about superstitions to prepare for my game. In many ways, I can’t wait until I retire. I know I will miss playing and the banter in the dressing room when I hang up my boots, but I’m equally looking forward to letting myself off the leash and not being restricted by anything.

  When I finish with football what I won’t do is be extravagant. I won’t blow fortunes on things but I will look at one or two investments. My favourite holiday destination is Portugal. I went there as a kid with my parents and brothers and go back there most years with Amanda and the kids. We love Vilamoura and I’d like to eventually buy a house out there, all being well. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s a lovely place with quality hotels, but I’m not the type to go somewhere and spend the equivalent of £9 on a beer when I can get it for less than half that price in Portugal. It’s just not me. The Motherwell boy in me tells me to get a grip of reality.

  I know football has given me and my family a very comfortable lifestyle but I will look after the pennies. That may be construed by some as being stingy and they can have that opinion if they want, but I’m just not a ‘Flash Harry’ and never will be. Even when it comes to fashion, I see some of the lads buying training shoes at £250 and paying £3,000 for a suit. I can’t understand that. I shop now the way I shopped when I was a teenager earning a very modest living. For example, I refuse to pay £175 for a designer label shirt when I can buy one out of Zara for £30. I love to buy nice clothes but I will not pay over the odds. Maybe I am tight but I think I’m just sensible.

  I did lose the plot a bit when I signed for Wigan and spent a right few quid on cars. I was being silly. That’s almost the extent of my extravagance. I bought a nice Rolex watch for myself and one for Amanda a few years ago but John Spencer helped to get them for me at cost price. I wouldn’t have paid the mark up for them in the shops. There was an eight-year waiting list for them and they are lovely. I’ve also bought them as an investment for the kids.

  Another long-term investment has been our beautiful house in Bothwell. Every time I drive through our gates I feel so happy. We bought two acres of land and knocked the house down. Started from scratch. The back garden was a jungle and we put that right. We designed it all and it took more than two years to build and get it the way we wanted. I spoiled myself and designed the basement, built a cinema room, a bar, a sauna and steam room. I hope we’re there for the rest of our days and pass it on to the kids.

  I still have kept in touch with most of the pals I grew up with. I was lucky to play with Motherwell, Wigan, Rangers and Scotland, so many of my dreams came true and when I take a moment to think about some things that have happened to me it can all feel quite surreal. It’s also given me so much pleasure to see my dad being so proud of me and it gives me enormous satisfaction that I’ve helped fulfil some of his dreams. For him to watch me playing for my country and leading Rangers out as captain in front of 50,000 fans has made it all worthwhile for me. I know if I sit in the stand at Ibrox twenty years from now and watch Callum or Jack play for Rangers then it will reduce me to tears. Floods of them.

  I look back on my career and I have so many people I owe a debt of gratitude to. Alex McLeish has probably been my favourite manager, in terms of the way he moulded me from a young age and instilled good habits. He made my parents feel I’d always be well looked after and that was also important. We were putty in his hands from the day we met him. Walter Smith gave me my dream move to Rangers. I’ll be eternally grateful for that. Billy Davies is the best tactician I’
ve played under. He was scared of no team and gave us great self-belief. We used to keep three players up front when the opposition had a corner kick. He tested other managers. He was thorough in his preparation and left absolutely nothing to chance.

  Paul Jewell was good for me and made Wigan Athletic such an enjoyable experience. He used to scare the living daylights out of me though. He was a fiery character, a true Scouser. He could cut you in half in two seconds. I’ve been lucky to have some solid team-mates, guys I now regard as friends and always will. From Garry Gow and John Spencer at Motherwell, to Gary Teale, Matt Jackson, Leighton Baines and Jimmy Bullard at Wigan, and Davie Weir and Kris Boyd at Rangers. Matt Jackson knows the game and was great at giving little pointers to me. Davie was the same at Rangers. The experience both had was invaluable. Davie was the best at speaking to the young players and making the new signings feel part of the club. He has a lovely manner. I’ve been trying to emulate big Davie since I was given the armband.

  I played with some extremely talented footballers too. At a young age, Barry Ferguson was class, everything about him was elegant, and although his passing and first touch were both great, he had excellent pace and was good in the air, qualities that may well have been overlooked about him. Emile Heskey had the lot – pace, power, first touch, lethal finisher and a threat in the air. He came in for a bit of stick now and again, but on his day there were few better. In terms of opponents who made my life a misery, the one guy who immediately comes to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo. He was my toughest opponent. I played against him for Wigan a few times and he was simply unstoppable. Incredible strength and pace, clever movement, wonderful spring that enabled him to win so many great headers and, of course, the step-overs. He really did put fear in me every time he had possession.