Secret of McSeveney’s success was a short back and sides

Shotts-born outside left said a trip to the barbers brought him luck.

Cardiff City travel to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 30 years on Saturday. The Welsh side have been prospering under Scottish boss Malky Mackay. But last week’s controversy surrounding the suspension of the club’s Head of Recruitment has placed his future in a little doubt.

In more innocent times, the players didn’t have to concern themselves about foreign owners and internal politics at the club.

When John McSeveney scored the winner for Cardiff at Chelsea in 1957, his main pre-match concern was where to get a haircut! He recalled: “I wasn’t a superstitious player, but I had my hair cut one Saturday morning and somebody said I had a particularly good game.

“So I decided to keep it going and would go to the Angel Hotel in Cardiff for a trim before home matches. At an away game, I would go to find a barber and there was usually one in the hotel we stayed at.

“I was an outside left but I scored a lot of goals. My philosophy was that if the ball was in the penalty box, I made sure I was there too.”

The 2-1 victory over Chelsea gave the Bluebirds hope of keeping their status in the top flight. But victories were few and far between in the second half of the campaign and they finished second bottom.

“We had some good players but were just a little short of the quality needed to stay up that season,” says John. “Fellow Scot Danny Malloy was a magnificent signing for Cardiff, and in attack I was playing alongside Gerry Hitchens.

“He went on to play for England and was a great goalscorer. We both hit the net against Chelsea and that win came just a week after we knocked Leeds United out of the FA Cup. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a big enough squad to keep the results going.”

John began his football career with Hamilton Accies and moved to Sunderland in 1951.

He said: “I didn’t really want to leave Sunderland, but they bought England international Billy Elliot from Burnley for a lot of money and he played in my position. When I moved to Cardiff, it was time for me to do National Service.

“Harry Kirtley and I both went from Sunderland and ended up working at Nantgarw Colliery. Coming from Shotts, I knew all about coal mining. It was worked out so that I could work there three days a week and fit my football around it.

“I scored twice for Cardiff on my debut against Sunderland! I was very lucky. Throughout my time in football, everything seemed to just fall into place.”

John went on to play for Newport County and Hull before beginning a long career in management and coaching. One of his achievements was leading Guyana to their first international win in 29 years.

Now 82, he lives in South Yorkshire and keeps a close eye on the football world.