SIR Alex Ferguson recently told Craig Brown he had booked himself on "the holiday of a lifetime".
The whole Ferguson clan – wife, children, grandchildren – will join him on a cruise he has been looking forward to for years. There is no need for luxury hotels in the Caribbean to ready themselves for an invasion. Fergie's itinerary? Oban, Iona, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist-
This is the first summer since 1973 in which Ferguson has not been a football manager. It will be up to others to represent Scotland from the dugout from now on and according to Brown, in typically evangelical form about native talent yesterday, there is no shortage of promising candidates. Just as Ferguson likes the idea of a Scottish holiday, so Brown likes Scottish managers.
Brown is averse to controversy, so all opinions come with the caveat that he has nothing but respect for Kenny Shiels and Steve Lomas – the two Northern Irishman who have recently left Kilmarnock and St Johnstone – and also for Jimmy Nicholl and Tommy Wright, two Northern Irishmen who once assisted them. Wright has already moved up to become the manager in Perth, of course, and Nicholl is a contender to emulate him at Rugby Park.
"I could be the devil's advocate here and say that although I like the two guys [Shiels and Lomas] and I thought they managed their teams well, I would rather see Scottish guys managing the teams, if all else is equal," said Brown. "We have the best managers on the planet. No disrespect to the Irish. I was instructing on the licensed coaching courses in Ireland and one of the best guys on the course by a long way was Neil Lennon. I'm friendly with Kenny. Although I must say – although I probably shouldn't admit this – I'm also friendly with Michael Johnston [the Kilmarnock chairman who dismissed him]. I get on well with the two of them. Kenny will be a loss."
When it comes to management post-Ferguson, Brown's view was emphatic. "The Scots boys are still running the show although the Godfather has retired," he said. The prominence of David Moyes at Manchester United went without saying; instead he name-checked the success of Malky Mackay at Cardiff City, Dougie Freedman at Bolton, Steve Evans at Rotherham and, closer to home, the promise and potential of Allan Johnston at Queen of the South, Alloa's Paul Hartley, and Colin Cameron at Cowdenbeath.
Sheffield United's decision to give David Weir his first job in management this week was given the full, unequivocal Brown endorsement. "Outstanding. I think that's great. You'll hardly get a better-equipped guy, I think," he said. "I used to complain at Aberdeen-Rangers games at Pittodrie because when he was the Rangers captain he always escorted the referee off at half-time. I'd say to the referee 'can you not get off the park without an escort?'
"Big Davie would nicely say 'excuse me, I think your decisions-this and that.' By the time he'd reached the tunnel he'd given the referee an analysis of his first-half performance! But he was very clever; a lovely, clever guy and an outstanding football guy. I think he's the man."
If Nicholl were to get the Kilmarnock job, rather than a Scot, it would preserve the oddity of there being almost as many Scottish managers in the English top flight as the Scottish: four south of the border, seven north of it.
Moyes, Mackay, Paul Lambert at Aston Villa and Steve Clarke at West Bromwich are in the Barclays Premier League and Derek McInnes, Jackie McNamara, Derek Adams, Gary Locke, Stuart McCall, Danny Lennon and Alan Archibald are in the top flight of what will become the Scottish Professional Football League. Northern Ireland (Wright and Neil Lennon), England (Terry Butcher) and the Republic of Ireland (Pat Fenlon) are also represented.
"Johnston and Hartley are exactly the type who should be getting SPL jobs," said Brown. "Add Cameron to that list. Their results with their teams speak for themselves. I rate Cameron quite highly. Johnston too. Players are at their least reliable when they're talking about a manager, because it depends whether they give them a game or not. But I asked Derek Young how he was getting on at Queen of the South and he said 'brilliant-the manager's brilliant'.
"I know Hartley well, obviously. He had a punch at Ray McKinnon at Brechin recently and he missed! I sent him a text saying 'when a man from Hamilton throws a punch the opponent usually hits the deck'. He replied 'McKinnon's still in hospital'. Johnston, Hartley and Cameron represent the new generation in Scotland."
Brown joined 500 schoolchildren from across Glasgow for the Tesco Bank Football Challenge Festival at Toryglen Regional Football Centre yesterday. The event is part of a four-year community partnership between Tesco and the SFA, to introduce football to six- to eight-year-olds.
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