No regrets for Stephen McManus as former Celtic skipper and Scotland centre-half calls time on his playing days

Gordon Strachan, who had presided over the humiliating result in his first competitive game as manager, made changes to his side afterwards and Stephen McManus, who had made only a smattering of first team appearances before that, finally got the opportunity he had been longing for.

“I can remember sitting on the bench in Bratislava the night we got beat 5-0 and thinking: ‘I can’t believe this is happening’,” recalled McManus as he sat in a lounge at Fir Park and looked back on the lengthy playing days he brought to an end last month to take up a coaching position at Motherwell. “But I played here in the next game. That match finished 4-4. Afterwards I thought: ‘I’ve blown my chance!’ I had been brought in to shore up the defence and was involved in a back four that conceded four goals.

“But the next day Gordon came in and asked: ‘How are you feeling?’ I said: ‘Good’. He said: ‘You’re playing again on Tuesday’. That was a massive call. He obviously saw something in me which made him believe I could be one of the main players for the next few years.”

It proved to be a shrewd decision. McManus may not be the finest player, or even defender, this country has produced. He was committed rather than cultured, uncompromising as opposed to elegant. But was there another home-grown professional of his generation who achieved so much? It is hard to think of one.

The 34-year-old won three Premiership titles, a League Cup and two Scottish Cups and played in the last 16 of the Champions League twice during the following four years with Celtic and also represented Scotland 26 times.

“I suppose I did alright,” he said. “I never wanted to be the guy who looked back with regrets and said: ‘I wish I’d applied myself that wee bit better’. I tried to work as hard as I could. I wanted my family to be proud of me, I wanted my wife to be proud of me, I wanted my kids to be proud of me.”

They surely are now. There were many famous victories and sweet successes during that time. However, leading the Glasgow club to their third consecutive league success against all the odds in 2008 following the tragic deaths of Phil O’Donnell and Tommy Burns at the end of his debut season as captain stands out for him.

“We needed to win our last seven games to win the league and two of them were against Rangers,” he said. “There was a lot riding on those games, a lot of emotion was involved. We were lucky enough to do it.

“That was a difficult time for a lot of people in Scottish football. Phil had passed away the December before that and Tommy passed away that season. It was a really emotional time at our football club, a time of real sadness.

“Some of the younger ones had a lot to thank Tommy for. He was such a wonderful figure, a great person to have there. If you ask Gordon now who his best signing was at Celtic he will say Tommy. He just lit up the training ground every day."

McManus is now hoping to help the many promising kids coming through the youth ranks at Motherwell to realise their potential in exactly the same way Burns did with aspiring hopefuls during his time at Celtic.

The alterations which have been made to the pro-youth set-up in Scotland are designed to substantially increase the number of youngsters who establish themselves in the first teams at senior clubs.

There could be no better man to help implement them. McManus forced his way into a Celtic side that contained the likes of Bobo Balde, John Hartson, Paul Lambert, Henrik Larsson, Neil Lennon, Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson when Martin O’Neill was in charge.

“I saw how they trained, looked after themselves, had a laugh at the right time, but trained as hard as they possibly could every single day,” he said. “Watching those guys was a massive education.”

McManus is indebted to Stephen Robinson, the Motherwell manager who he assists with first team training, for giving him the opportunity to coach at Fir Park and is clearly excited and passionate about his new role.

"With Project Brave coming in it is a good time to be involved," he said. "Something needed to change. The good thing is that the SFA and the clubs are working together.”

The dearth of top quality Scottish centre-backs is something which national manager Strachan, who remains a friend and mentor, has repeatedly bemoaned.

McManus, who also played for Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Motherwell, believes changing how defenders are coached at an early age may help to address this problem.

“Centre-backs very rarely head the ball in academy games,” he said. “Everything is all about driving out from the back. They can all play lovely passes. That is great. But they then go and play in the first team against a centre-forward who is 6ft 3in and weighs 90 kilos and have no idea how to handle him.

“We need to find a balance. One hundred per cent you want defenders who can play, but you need to be able to defend as well. You aren’t going to create many defenders if you don’t head the ball I can assure you of that.

“I am now trying to educate young players, on what it takes to become a professional footballer. There is no easy ride. Kids need to make sacrifices, need to be dedicated, need to put everything they possibly can do into it.”

McManus certainly did that. It proved well worth it. He has been reminded of one of the many highlights in recent days as Scotland supporters looked back on that famous 1-0 win over France and that James McFadden goal in a Euro 2008 qualifier in Paris a decade ago this week.

“I was right behind James and can still remember him taking the shot,” he said. “I thought: ‘He’s not having a go from there is he?’ It was probably the most iconic moment of any game I was ever involved in.”

It was one of the few wrong calls he made. Motherwell and Scottish football are fortunate Stephen McManus remains involved.