Big Interview – John Lambie

As the man who led Partick Thistle to three promotions, John Lambie knows all about clambering up the divisions.

Yet as he watches his most recent successors Alan Archibald and Jackie McNamara close in on an SPL place and ready Dundee United for top-six action respectively, he struggles to raise a smile.

It is not that the Maryhill club’s Honorary Vice-President feels they don’t deserve their respective rewards. He knows they do.

Rather, it is simply he reckons the state of the Scottish game offers absolutely no room for optimism.

“It is a shame for the lads, but football in Scotland has just gone doolally,” he said, ahead of this week’s SPL and SFL votes on reconstruction.

“The situation is really bad now and deteriorating more with every season.

“When you have Rangers playing Annan Athletic in a League game and getting BEATEN, then there’s something not right.

“A blind man could see that.

“I was at Thistle’s game against Morton on Wednesday night, and they got a right good crowd through the door.

“But none of the Scottish matches I have seen lately has been good enough. There is not the excitement you get from watching Barcelona on the TV, or the big teams down the road in England.

“It is hard to put my finger on exactly what is missing, but something certainly is.”

Lambie spent 20 years as a manager in separate spells with Thistle, Hamilton Accies and Falkirk.

He became almost as famous for racing pigeons as his exploits in the dug-out.

Now into his seventies, the man from Whitburn reckons the game has gone cuckoo and he doesn’t expect tomorrow’s SPL vote on reconstruction to usher in any improvement.

“I can’t have 12-12-18. Honestly, it is a joke,” he said.

“Then to split into three leagues of eight after 22 games? They should just forget the whole thing.

“Chairmen Stewart Gilmour of St Mirren and Ross County’s Roy McGregor have been given stick for suggesting they should look instead at an expanded top flight.

“If folk had any sense they would be hailed as heroes.

“What was wrong with a top league of 18? Can anyone out there tell me that?

“It used to work just fine. I know because I was there, and there is plenty of evidence it is what most of today’s fans are after.

“People would say teams ended up with games where they had nothing to play for, but that used to be the time when young players would get their chance.

“I remember that is how Hibs brought John Brownlie and Alex Cropley through and they didn’t turn out to be too bad, did they?

“It worked pretty well overall, but then the Old Firm got greedy and wanted it all changed.

“So where the teams had previously split the crowds 50-50, clubs got their home gates.

“That made it harder for the smaller clubs to compete, and started the desperation to get a couple of home games a season against each of the Old Firm.

“It might have brought in money for Rangers and Celtic, but it did nothing for the Scottish game.”

That, he argues, has hit the national team hardest.

“Jose Mourinho couldn’t get a turn out of the current Scotland squad. Really he couldn’t,” said Lambie.

“Not Mourinho, nor Sir Alex Ferguson. The situation is that bad.

“I feel sorry for Gordon Strachan because the talent isn’t there and the League set-up we have now has a lot to answer for on that score.

“OK, we have some neat and tidy players. But that isn’t what you need at international level. You need real players for that.

“Where are the modern-day Jim Baxters and Jimmy Johnstones? Those were fantastic talents. Guys with real natural ability of the type that can’t be coached.

“I used to watch Scotland play against England in the Home Internationals, and there would be days when we would destroy them.

“Can you imagine that today? Now we can’t be guaranteed to beat anyone not even the minnows.

“It is truly sad to think we haven’t made it through to a major Finals since 1998.

“We used to be there every time.”

And if lack of playing talent wasn’t enough to get managers down, there is the marked lack of job security.

“That is one reason I feel really sorry for the likes of Alan Archibald and Jackie McNamara,” Lambie said.

“Things have just got right out of hand. Managers used to get five years to prove themselves. Now they are lucky to get FIVE MONTHS!

“Clubs are looking for overnight miracles and then taking drastic action when they don’t materialise.

“I don’t believe it would be any different for me if I was coaching today. If the results weren’t good enough, then I would be out the door. It is as simple as that.”

But would he be allowed to give the players a kick up the backside something he was renowned for in his pomp when things went wrong?

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a laugh. “Times change and you have to recognise that.

“I think there is still room for managers to let people know when they are not happy, but I imagine they will have to be a lot more careful about it.

“But listen. The best will always do well. You just need to look at Alex Ferguson for proof of that.”

As to whether Scottish football can prove as durable in the years to come, Lambie is far from convinced.