Paul Sturrock played his entire career under legendary Dundee United manager Jim McLean
Whether Jim Goodwin is destined for hero status at Tannadice remains to be seen.
But Sturrock is backing the United boss to take a step in the right direction next season – by leading the Tangerines to the Championship title.
Sturrock (or ‘Luggy’ to his friends) may be living in Cornwall these days, but he’s as plugged into United’s various dramas as ever.
His bond with the club isn’t one that’s loosened by distance.
So when he speaks, he speaks from the heart as much as from the head.
And while he’s incredulous at the way United have burned through managers in recent years, he believes they have now landed on one with the ability to lead them back where they belong.
“We’ve had five managers in the last four years,” he says, then pauses to let it sink in.
“But I wish Jim (Goodwin) all the best. Once an Arab, always an Arab, that’s how it is for me.
“He’ll need a hand with it. If you’re coaching a team and looking for players in the background and working on deals… that’s a big job.
“He’s going to need help there. A proper scouting base.
“But at the end of the day, I’m pretty confident he’ll get us up.
“He did very well at Alloa and at St Mirren and that doesn’t happen out of nothing.
“Aberdeen might not have gone the way he hoped, but the Darvel game was what killed him there. I think he’ll get United up.”
Tangerines fans who were lucky enough to see Sturrock in full flight, don’t need any convincing of his extraordinary ability.
But it’s nice to be reminded sometimes.
Just as well then that BBC Scotland has dedicated an entire episode of a new series, entitled “Icons of Football”, to the United hero.
Over half an hour, the show touches on Sturrock’s greatest hits in tangerine, from the League title win in 1983, through the controversial European Cup semi-final loss to Roma in ’84, to UEFA Cup heartache in 1987 and his retirement from playing at the age of just 32.
It was a truly remarkable run as a player. But does he feel, as the show suggests he is, like an ‘icon’?
“No,” he responds instantly.
“It’s a bit strange to think about that. I just loved playing football with my mates.”
What about Jim McLean then? Was he an icon?
“Definitely,” he says.
“That was one man who moulded so many people’s careers. When you look at what was achieved by his teams, by the players he worked with, it’s incredible.
“I consider myself lucky to have been managed by him.
“Along with Walter Smith and Gordon Wallace, Jim gave me a career in the sense that I didn’t have a left foot early on.
“But at Jim’s say-so, Walter and Gordon and would spend two hours, two afternoons a week firing balls into my left foot. We did this for two years. That changed things for me.
“That was down to Jim’s attention to detail. That’s where I’m lucky.”
Sturrock’s sense of humour is clear to see while he’s on-camera in “Icons of Football”.
The effects of the Parkinson’s Disease with which he was diagnosed in 2000 are there too.
He doesn’t try to cover them up. What would be the point, would be his thinking.
Instead, he just gets on with it; goes fishing, metal detecting and golfing (badly), with the occasional trip to the pub thrown in.
“I’m coping fine,” says Luggy.
“The tablets are okay. But it’s getting slowly worse. I can’t hide the fact of that.
“It was the year 2000 I was diagnosed. I think I had it for a lot longer before though.
“But what can you do? I get on with life. I enjoy life. There’s no point feeling sorry for yourself.”
Icons of Football: Paul Sturrock is available now on BBC iPlayer and will be broadcast live on the BBC Scotland channel this coming Friday, June 23, at 10.30pm.
