Why ex-Celtic boss would advise Jose Mourinho against move
Former manager Gordon Strachan has revealed that he would advise against Jose Mourinho taking the manager’s job at Celtic, despite his own successes in Glasgow.
Strachan took charge of Celtic between 2005 and 2009, where he won a total of six major honours, including three Scottish Premier League titles, one Scottish Cup and two League Cups.
Speaking with BetVictor Casino, the 69-year-old gave his views on Mourinho potentially swapping Lisbon for Glasgow this summer. “I can’t see Jose sitting on the bench at Livingston on a plastic pitch, or Kilmarnock with a plastic pitch. He lives on the edge anyway, and he’s been great for football. I just can’t see Jose at Kilmarnock with a plastic pitch,” he said.
“No, that’s not going to happen. For the guy’s mental state, I wouldn’t advise it either. It doesn’t matter what age you are or what you’ve done in the game; the key is understanding the players you have and determining the best system for them.
“Critically, you need good people, both as characters and players, around you. We’ve seen young managers come in and fail quickly, and we’ve seen older managers come and go. There is no one-size-fits-all identity kit for this club. Success comes from someone understanding the club, understanding what is needed to win games, regardless of the system.
“Like set-plays, there are different tactical systems, but no one is definitively better than another for every situation. The priority is getting your best technically, physically, and mentally strong players onto the pitch. Manchester United recently changed their approach when they realised the initial system wasn’t working for their players.
“It’s similar to Celtic’s experience, when a manager insisted on three at the back, despite the club having won 14 out of the last 15 titles playing a different way.” Strachan continued, “There is no age requirement for this job; it’s about common sense and understanding what you have. It’s not about making yourself the best coach; it’s about making the players better and winning games. It’s not about the coaches who think they won the game. “Notice how coaches often say the players stuck to the great system when they win, but when they lose, it’s always the players’ fault. A strange thing about coaching is that when a younger coach wins, it’s credited to their coaching, but when they lose, it’s blamed on the refereeing or something else, never themselves. “The examples of two of the biggest clubs in the world, Celtic and Man United, show that if you bring in the wrong person and try to implement the wrong approach, you’re doomed. “That’s why you revert to common sense, with someone like Michael Carrick, who understands the league, or a vastly experienced manager like Martin O’Neill.”