Ibrox legend Wallace dies

To the amazement of the Scottish press he ordered Rangers players up sand dunes, sprayed them with cold water from a hose in the dressing rooms before matches and preached the gospel that football was a tough game of character.

In his younger days he was in the Army in the Malaya jungles. In a game of hard men, he was the hardest, or so it seemed. The reality, as told by those who knew him, was of a man with a soft centre, a winning roguish smile and a sharp and tactical brain.

Although Jock Wallace became to a certain extent a prisoner of his own image, his ability where it mattered was never in doubt.

He knew when to give the Ibrox faithful what they wanted. Always a Rangers man, though never a bigot, one of the most famous incidents concerns his appearance at a Rangers rally when the chairman invited the new manager to say a few words.

``To hell with that,'' Wallace replied before leading the assembled company in an enthusiastic rendition of the Sash.

His military-style disciplinarian approach may have come from the 18 months he spent in Malaya with the King's Own Scottish Borderers fighting Chinese terrorists. He once admitted he had enjoyed the fighting and learnt a lot about himself.

``You soon discovered the men who had bottle and could do the business,'' he said. ``All the men I knew in that category came back and did something with their lives.''

Mr Wallace was undoubtedly in that category himself and his abilities on the football field were never overlooked by the chairmen of other clubs.

He stunned Glasgow by leaving Ibrox to join Leicester City in 1978 where he got the club promotion to the First Division and semi-final of the FA Cup. But the lure of Rangers proved irresistible and he returned to Ibrox in 1983, via Motherwell, to replace John Greig.

During that second spell Wallace guided Rangers to the 1984 League Cup when an Ally McCoist hat-trick defeated Celtic at Hampden.

But during season 1985-86 it became increasingly obvious that the Wallace magic was not working second time around and when he made way in April 1986 his successor was Graeme Souness.

His final parting from the club he loved came at the start of the David Holmes-Graeme Souness revolution in 1986. In his later life he was dogged with the problems Parkinson's disease brought him.

John Greig, who is now the public relations officer for the Ibrox club, said: ``Although, like most people, I knew he had an illness, we had not expected this to happen.

``It is always very sad when something like this happens to someone associated with the club and my thoughts tonight are with his wife Daphne and his family.''

Alex Totten, manager of Kilmarnock, who was Wallace's right hand man at Ibrox when he was assistant manager, said he was stunned.

``Big Jock made a dream of mine come true when he took me to Rangers,'' he said. ``I learned a great deal from him and we were very close the three years I was there. We went to the Maltas, Majorcas, and places like Austria. He was great company, quite approachable.

``Last season I invited him to the Kilmarnock-Hearts game. He had a great time.''

He added: ``In my office in Kilmarnock there is a photograph of the two of us. I'll never forget him.''

Former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill said he was saddened by the news. ``Big Jock was a breath of fresh air and great company.

``He did so well and offered so much. But for me it is particularly sad because of the memories I have of him. With Jock you got exactly what you saw.''

Celtic spokesman Peter McLean said: ``Obviously everybody here is deeply saddened to hear of Jock's death. He was greatly respected as a man and for what he achieved in the sport. Our hearts go out to him and his family.''

Wallace was a former Airdrie goalkeeper who was transferred to West Bromwich Albion and then joined Berwick Rangers to make football history. He then became number two at Hearts under John Harvey.

Rangers made a revolutionary change with Willie Waddell becoming manager in succession to David White. He decided that his trainer and number two would be Jock Wallace.

The Waddell and Wallace partnership was highly successful, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972, defeating Moscow Dynamo in Barcelona.

FORMER Rangers manager Jock Wallace, one of the greats of Scottish football, died last night. Tributes flowed in for the Ibrox legend, who had a heart attack while visiting his daughter in England.

Paramedics tried to revive him in an ambulance taking him to North Hampshire Hospital from the village of Sherbourne St John, near Basingstoke.

They radioed ahead for a resuscitation team to be on stand-by at the hospital, but the efforts of the medical team failed to revive him and he was pronounced dead.

Wallace, 60, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, was elevated to the status of Ibrox legend when he created two domestic treble winning teams in 1976 and 1978. He was the team's chief coach in 1972 when they won the Cup-winners Cup, arguably the club's finest hour.

Characterised as a hard man with a soft centre, he was ironically goalkeeper manager for Berwick Rangers when they made history by putting his beloved Rangers out of the Scottish Cup in 1967.

Rangers manager Walter Smith, who is with the current squad on tour in Denmark, said last night: ``Jock was a major figure at this club. Ibrox was always very important to him, and we all feel saddened by the news.

``We will mark his death officially in some way, and certainly the first time we play at Ibrox which will be against Arsenal in Richard Gough's testimonial game on August 3.

``Jock will be remembered as a great Rangers man, and that may be all he ever wanted.''

Apart from managing Rangers twice, he also had spells with Seville, Leicester City and Colchester United.

He had his finest hours at Ibrox first time around when he succeeded Willie Waddell as manager. He guided

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