Celtic knocked the stuffing out of Alan Thompson but now he’s back

When Alan Thompson was sacked as Celtic’s first-team coach in the summer of 2012, it knocked the stuffing out of him.

His controversial departure marked the end of an association with the club going back 12 years, and badly damaged his friendship with Neil Lennon.

He felt hurt and let down, and decided to take a year out of the game.

Knowing that the amount of unemployed coaches and managers on both sides of the border could form a lengthy queue along the M6, that was a huge risk. But Thompson felt he needed to gamble.

Celtic had been good for him. He picked up nine domestic medals, played in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final and became the first-ever player to swop the Hoops for an England shirt when Sven Goran Eriksson capped him in a friendly against Sweden in 2004.

He had been good for the Glasgow club, too, and as a coach with Lennon they’d won the Premier League and Scottish Cup.

Thompson who became a coach at Newcastle United immediately after hanging up his boots at Leeds United was 12 months out of football before the right offer arrived.

Fellow Geordie Lee Clark tempted him to join Birmingham City as Head of Youth Development in June, 2014. Five months later Clark was sacked and Thompson decided to do the honourable thing.

Birmingham didn’t have their troubles to seek as they were up for sale and their owner, Carson Yeung, was in jail. The following week, Clark was back in football as Blackpool boss, and took Thompson as his assistant.

Many described the move as going from the frying pan into the fire, and owner Karl Oyston’s reputation is such that in coaching circles, it is said it’s better to be unemployed than to work for him.

Blackpool were staring relegation when Thompson joined up, and will be playing in League One next season. But he is optimistic about the future.

“I’ve packed quite a bit in during my seven years in coaching and management,” he said. “There are regrets, of course. But you must take positives and make sure in future you deal differently with situations.

“When I was out of the game, I did wonder where the next job was coming from. It’s natural to have concerns, but you have to be confident without being arrogant.

“Coaching and management is a competitive business, and almost every week a respected colleague is shown the door.

“Lee and me have had two tough jobs. It was tough at Birmingham because of the off-the-field stuff, and it was always going to be hard avoiding relegation with Blackpool.

“I just hope I don’t have another season in football like the one I’ve just had. What has happened in the past six or seven months will make me stronger as a person and as a coach.”

Thompson, 41, and a fully-qualified UEFA coach, is enjoying being a sidekick but has ambitions to be a No.1.

As we share a pot of tea in a Blackpool hotel, he said: “I’d love to one day be my own man.

“I like to play a passing game, but you have to be flexible and be mindful of the limitations of your players. Sometimes it might not be suitable to play it along the deck and you have to go long.

“Now, that doesn’t mean lumping it! It means playing it into the final third with a bit of quality, the way we used to do with Chris Sutton at Celtic.

“It would be nice to have intricate midfielders. But if you end up managing a League Two club, you might not have the quality. So the focus has to be purely on doing what it takes to win promotion or avoid relegation.

“Look, when you become a manager, you know it’s going to be unforgiving.

“Look at Sam Allardyce at West Ham. He might get them a top-10 finish, but some people are saying he doesn’t deserve a new contract. That’s crazy.

“Nothing is surprising. Some chief executives are patient, some aren’t. Sir Alex Ferguson got time at Manchester United. Davie Moyes (below) was given no time.”

Losing his job at Old Trafford hurt Moyes in the way it floored Thompson to be told to leave Celtic. He fell out with Neil Lennon over it but the pair are friends again.

Thompson has never been back inside Celtic Park since he left, but he may well be tempted next season if there is an Old Firm game. He’d also not turn his back on the opportunity to work there again.

“Celtic have missed out on the Treble, but I know from experience doing the Treble is not easy.

“I didn’t realise only Jock Stein and Martin O’Neill had been the only managers in Celtic’s history to do it, so I’m very proud to have been a part of that in 2001. Who knows when the next one will be.

“Overall, the game in Scotland needs Rangers back in the top division. For me, it’s a better and much more competitive league with them in it. I’m sure most Celtic fans will agree with that but I know there are a few who will not!

“I’ve great memories from Rangers games. I scored seven goals and got three red cards.

“I played with some great players and great people, and played against some great players and great people from the other side of the city.

Thompson will also keep a close eye on the SPFL Championship play-offs, as his close pal Alan Stubbs goes into it with Hibs and one of his former youth players at Newcastle United, Haris Vuckic, does the same with Rangers.

He said: “I took Haris Vuckic into Newcastle as a 15-year-old from Slovenia, and right away he trained with the first team under Kevin Keegan. He didn’t look out of place alongside Michael Owen and Alan Smith.

“Injuries hampered him in the past couple of years, but he will go on to have a good career and is doing well at Rangers. The play-offs will be very exciting.

“Would I ever go back to Scotland, and Celtic? I’d never say never. At this stage a move like that seems a long way off.

“But Celtic and the supporters all have a place in my heart. So one day I suppose it would be nice . . .”