Jerren Nixon is dressed for the occasion.
With a beaming smile and infectious laugh, he proudly displays his electric tangerine home shirt from the 1991/92 campaign, “Belhaven” plastered across the front.
A little before his time – Nixon joined United in December 1993 – but a cherished part of his collection, nonetheless.
“I have a few other match-worn tops, too,” he says. “One has No.10 on the back – so I guess Craig Brewster must have been injured that day!”
Now a luxury chauffeur based in Atlanta, Georgia, opportunities to reminisce about his United days are a rarity for Nixon, a cult hero who thrilled and frustrated Arabs in equal measure.
From his attire to the fervour with which he recalls his formative time in Scotland, he is ready to take full advantage over the course of a 70-minute video call with Courier Sport.
“I can say that joining Dundee United made me the man I am today,” Nixon notes. “It was my first time in Europe, and I grew up quickly.
“There were hard moments, but I tried hard. I gave everything for the club, and I hope the supporters know that.”
Buckets of water and Deep Heat
Nixon was already considered a precocious talent in the Caribbean. A waspish left-sided winger, with searing pace and an eye for goal, he had represented Trinidad & Tobago at the World Youth Cup.
He was taken to the Caribbean Championships with the senior squad and, by the time he arrived in Dundee, was already a full internationalist.
But for all Trinidad would soon become a familiar source of untapped talent – Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Collin Samuel, Jason Scotland, Kenwyne Jones – it was a leap into the unknown for United back in 1993.
As such, he was only brought in on trial and was fielded in a bounce match that November.
“What I remember about the trial is that we played a friendly match, and it was VERY cold – they took me off at half-time to get me back to the stadium,” he recalled. “I sprinted into the shower.
“Then, the game finishes and all the players come back and jump in the shower, get dressed and go – and I am still sitting in the shower with my feet in a bucket of hot water.
“People would talk about me wearing gloves when I played. Well, my hands were STILL cold in the gloves. I’d run about and making fists and trying to get the blood pumping. I put Deep Heat in my socks for every game.”
“I didn’t tell my mum I loved her”
Scotland’s perpetually plunging temperatures was just one challenge Nixon sought to overcome once he earned a contract, joining the Terrors for £200,000.
The weather; the food; the bustling pace of life – it was all a culture shock for a 19-year-old kid 11,500 miles from home.
The Dundee accent even proved a puzzler.
He adds: “There was a language barrier, too. That might sound crazy because it is still English, but it was not the English I was used to!”
However, those obstacles paled in comparison to being away from his doting mother, Denise, in a time before mobiles, video calls and social media. To this day, Nixon still recalls those long walks to the phone booth.
“I was so far away from home and had to walk a mile to call my mum,” he continued.
“I would go with five coins and, as I’m speaking, I see the time running out. We would talk about a whole bunch of stuff and before I could say “mum, I love you” the call would be disconnected.
“I’d walk all the way back to the digs thinking: “man, I didn’t even tell my mum I love her.””
Despite the distance and technological limitations, she was Nixon’s rock; always on hand to provide a sense of perspective as he sought to make a better life for himself and, eventually, his own family.
“I grew up in a very rough neighbourhood in my country,” he continued. “A lot of my friends…well, a lot of my friends are not here today. Let’s put it like that. That is because of the choices they made.
“Football gave me the chance to get away from other dangers and put me on the right path.
“So, when there were hard times and I had doubts – when I said, “I’m coming back” – my mum would shut me down and say no.
“She would say, “Come back? Come back to what?” That was my motivation.”
Derby day double…
Nixon is candid and honest about the hurdles facing a young boy striking out on his own. However, his recollections are far from bleak. He speaks with fondness of the United teammates who welcomed him with open arms and raised studs.
“All the challenges and sacrifices were worthwhile because I love the game and I was willing to do what I had to do – and everyone was good to me,” Nixon continued.
“I was close to Christian Dailly and Alec (Cleland) because we were around the same age, and they would look after me, show me around town and make me feel more at home.
“Dave Hannah was also brilliant, and we lived very close to each other.
“On the training field, the guys at training always made sure I was ready for the aggression. They would get stuck in, and I just had to dust myself off, get up and adapt to life in football.
“If I complained or rolled on the ground, I would just hear, “get up” and the session kept going. That was so important; it made me ready for Scotland and it was all in good spirits. I could handle it.”
Nixon made a positive first impression when he notched a double in a Reserve League fixture against Dundee, affording him a sense of the adulation that could await him in the City of Discovery.
He laughed: “After that game, a few of the boys took me out at night and so many supporters were coming up to me and saying, ‘Keep scoring against Dundee and we’ll love you forever!””
Nixon: I was in dreamland
Never mind a couple of derby goals; within five months of signing his first ever professional contract, he was assured a place in United folklore. One of 13 men to play a part in their first ever Scottish Cup final victory.
The 1-0 victory over Rangers was beamed back to the Caribbean entirely due to Nixon’s involvement and, entering the fray as a late substitute, he would become the first Trinidadian player to earn a winner’s medal in British football.
“I was living in dreamland,” he recalled. “Before the game, I was so nervous I went to the restroom so many times – and I wasn’t even in the starting team!
“They were knocking on the door and saying it was time to go. I was saying, “No, I’m not ready yet.”
“So many people were watching back home. I felt that pressure. But, when I came on, it was just normal – another game of football for me.”
He joked: “That was another cold walk to the phone booth to talk to everyone back home about how I just won the Scottish Cup!”
Of the man who brought the big cup back to Dundee, Ivan Golac, Nixon said: “Ivan was good to me and trusted my talents. I wanted to make him proud.”
Indeed, to say Golac had faith in the young wide man would seem an understatement. He once famously – and largely in jest; a fact somewhat lost to history – declared Nixon would one day be worth upwards of £15 million.
“I think Ivan just wanted me to FEEL like a £15 million man and to give me confidence,” said Nixon.
“But I didn’t feel any added pressure from that. It was no problem.
“I definitely was not a £15 million player back then, although maybe I would be a £15 million player in the crazy prices today – that’s pocket change!”
Grabbing Gianfranco Zola’s jersey
As it was, Nixon would leave Tannadice for rather more modest six-figure sum in August 1995; deemed unsuitable for the challenge of guiding United back to the top-flight following their dismal relegation the prior season.
Nixon added: “I was not the type of player he (Golac’s successor Billy Kirkwood) wanted so I had to move on. I was not happy with that. I never wanted to leave.”
For all his departure was regrettable, Nixon’s subsequent career would be laudable.
Capped 38 times for Trinidad, he enjoyed close to a decade in Swiss football, turning out for FC Zurich – with whom he defeated Celtic in the 1998/99 Uefa Cup – Yverdon-Sport and St Gallen.
During his time with the latter, he played in the Champions League qualification rounds, losing out to a Jardel-inspired Galatasaray, and was part of the side that dumped Chelsea out of the Uefa Cup in 2000.
“I was a Chelsea supporter, so beating them was amazing,” he continued. “The team had guys like Frank Leboeuf, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Roberto di Matteo and we got a special result.
“Gianfranco Zola was my favourite player, and I was pretty much up against him on that side. So, I spent some of the game going, “If we swap shirts, can I have yours?”
“When the full-time whistle blew, so many players in my team asked Zola for his shirt but he kept his word and gave it to me. That was a big moment. I was in the shower, laughing and still wearing it. I didn’t want to take it off!”
Nixon’s eye on United
Following a brief foray into coaching in his homeland and the United States, Nixon walked away from football, albeit 12-year-old Jemarre – one of his four children with wife of 25 years, Kathy – is in Atlanta United’s youth academy.
Nixon is now owner and operator of J&K Transportation.
He counts basketball icon Charles Barkley and TV star Nick Cannon among his clients but, even as he ferries superstars from A to B, he has one eye on United every weekend.
“The support of those (United) fans will stay with me forever,” he added. “They may not hear from me so much these days, but every weekend I have United selected on my scores app on my phone!
“I follow the results – and I am glad to see they are back in the top league and wish them all the luck.”
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