Happy Birthday Walter

[ian1964 10,720]

Happy birthday, gaffer!

 

Exclusive by Lindsay Herron

 

WALTER SMITH should probably be cautious when he goes into the dressing room on Sunday ahead of the Gretna game - if he has learned anything in nearly 30 years of dealing with Ally McCoist.

 

Walter is 60 on Sunday and there is bound to some form of high jinks with people like McCoist and partner in crime Ian Durrant about!

 

Ally McCoist, Walter Smith and Kenny McDowallThe two of them were the kings of the Rangers dressing room in Smith's first period in charge and when he was assistant to Graeme Souness.

 

Now they are his valued lieutenants in his second term as boss and deadly serious about their business.

 

However, few people can lighten up a room like McCoist or Durrant and there are bound to be a few laughs before the day is through.

 

McCoist said: "We have to wish him a happy birthday although I think there is many a time he didn't think he would make it!

 

"It's a great birthday and behalf of the staff and all of the players we hope it's a happy one.

 

"Knowing the Gaffer as I do, the best thing to make him happy would be a win against Gretna!"

 

The relationship between Smith and McCoist stretches back further than the trophy-laden years they spent together at Ibrox in the 1980s and 1990s and their more recent jobs with Scotland and Ally McCoist and Walter SmithRangers.

 

McCoist revealed that Smith had the misfortune to have a youthful Ally under his charge when the Scotland under-17 team when to the French Riviera.

 

Smith, then a blossoming coach with Jim McLean's Dundee United, had been appointed assistant to Andy Roxburgh in the youth set-up and was well thought of in football circles.

 

Unfortunately, he fell for a trademark McCoist gag - although Ally soon learned the angry side of Smith!

 

McCoist told me: "I first came across Walter when he was assistant to Andy Roxburgh with the Scottish youth team.

 

"We took a side to Monaco. I was still at school at the time and was playing with St Johnstone.

 

"I was rooming with big Davie Moyes and I made the mistake of locking Walter on the balcony of our hotel room!

 

"He made the mistake of falling for the old 'what a good view we have here' routine and walked out onto the balcony and the door was promptly locked!

 

"Twenty minutes later I was terrified to unlock the door and big Davie had to let him in and, funnily enough, I never locked him out on the balcony again after that!"

 

It was to be 1986 before McCoist and Smith were fully connected when the latter joined Rangers as assistant to Graeme Souness in the ground-breaking move which rocked the football world.

 

Nacho Novo and Ally McCoist arrive in SpainSmith had been part of the most successful period in Dundee United's history, helping them win the Scottish Premier League title in 1983 and reaching the European Cup semi-finals the following year.

 

United and Aberdeen had attacked the Old Firm's dominance of the game and won with the Dons also winning the title in 1980, 1984 and 1985.

 

Tannadice was a place to be feared and that was not lost on Souness who had got to know Smith through the international set-up.

 

Following the death of Jock Stein in 1985, Alex Ferguson had taken over as Scotland manager on a temporary basis and he made Walter his assistant.

 

McCoist revealed: "I remember being at a Scotland get-together at the Grosvenor Hotel prior to the Mexico World Cup and Graeme was there as a player and Walter was there as assistant manager.

 

"That was the first time we heard that they were coming to Rangers and what a transformation that proved to be, not only for Rangers Football Club but for Scottish football in general."

 

It is well documented the impact the appointment had and Rangers fans could not have imagined the riches that lay in store.

 

A first title in nine years along with the League Cup came in year one and the new Rangers were off and running.Walter Smith and Ally McCoist

 

Celtic won the crown back in 1988, but it was fleeting success. The nine in a row era was about to start and the League Cups kept coming.

 

McCoist, though, never had the best of relationships with Souness who, having signed Mark Hateley in the summer of 1990, chose to partner the big Englishman with Mo Johnston rather than Ally.

 

McCoist was on the bench more often than not, earning him the nickname of The Judge.

 

Being a man who thrives on humour, Ally accepted the tag but, again, there was a serious element to it all which almost resulted in him leaving Rangers.

 

It was Smith who, by his actions, convinced Ally to stay and the rest, as they say is history.

 

When Souness left for Liverpool, Smith made McCoist and Hateley the most terrorising strike partnership of the period

 

McCoist explained: "Walter put faith in me in his first season in charge and that was important for me.

 

"I have to be honest and say that I was at a bit of a crossroads at that time. We had competition for places the previous season and it's well documented that Graeme wasn't that too sure of me, which is a polite way of putting it.

 

"Thankfully, when Walter took over he played me. I managed to go on a good run with big Mark and it worked out wonderfully well.

 

"One of the first games that season was against Hearts at Tynecastle and he gave me my chance and I scored that night.

 

Kenny McDowall, Walter Smith and Ally mcCoist"So I was very thankful that he gave me the opportunity to play and it snowballed from there for me."

 

Those who were around Ally during his playing days at Rangers would be the first to admit that they did not foresee a day when he would lead training sessions and organise tactics on a grand scale.

 

However, he has proved in the last three years that he has this ability in spades and, of course, Walter Smith was the catalyst by recruiting him for the national team.

 

He said: "I was thrilled to bits when he gave me the opportunity with Scotland. It was a massive move and a massive chance for me.

 

"In many ways it was better than going somewhere else full time. It was a perfect experience and learning curve to come into a part-time environment.

 

"And it proved to me that I wanted to do it full time."

 

McCoist got that chance last January when Smith returned to Rangers to replace Paul Le Guen, steadied the ship and now has his eyes on all of the major prizes this season.

 

So, what's it like now all these years after locking Walter out on a balcony in Monte Carlo?

 

He said: "My relationship with him now is not that much different from when I was playing for him.

 

"He is still the boss, and that's the way it should be, but we are obviously closer in the sense that we talk about things and talk about the team a lot more on the coaching side.

 

"I am very respectful of the relationship we have and thankful of the relationship we have and it's one that I value very highly.

 

"It is different in the sense that as a player there are things your manager would not discuss with you but now we are open with each other on so many things."

 

There is a family celebration of Walter's special birthday coming up which will undoubtedly be a great affair but it is unclear what the coaching staff and players have planned.

 

McCoist, with that impish smile he has never lost, said: "There will be something in the dressing room for him, but I'm not sure it will be a birthday cake!"

 

Many happy returns, Walter.

[Jon 0]

Great read.

 

Shows Ally has a deadly serious side but hasn't lost his sense of humour. Also shows the greatrespect he has for WS.

 

Will he be next Rangers manager though??

[ian1964 10,720]

Great read.

 

Shows Ally has a deadly serious side but hasn't lost his sense of humour. Also shows the greatrespect he has for WS.

 

Will he be next Rangers manager though??

 

Why not?

 

However,I never even expected Ally to go into coaching and to be honest I don't think we really know how good he is as a coach,but if Walter thinks he's a good coach then who am I to argue

[Jon 0]

Nah dont get me wrong, I'd love him to learn fro WS then one day take over in his own right.