Finland manager and former Dundee United striker Mixu Paatelainen has hailed his former Tannadice boss Jim McLean as his inspiration.
He was at Hampden on Monday to deliver a lecture to the next generation of players studying for their coaching badges.
The former Dundee United striker completed his B licence in England, sat his A licence in Scotland and his Pro licence in his homeland but he revealed the best education he ever got was under the “genius” that was McLean at Tannadice.
McLean, paid FC Haka £100,000 to bring the 20-year-old to Tayside and sold him to Aberdeen for four times as much in March 1992.
However, Paatelainen believes that the four-and-a-half years he spent working under wee Jim was the most crucial period of his career.
“Jim McLean was fantastic,” he said. “He was up there with the best on the training ground. He was a genius.
“Jim was so clear with every player on the training ground he literally took you by the hand and told you where you should be and taught you the positions you should take up.
“That was the old way of doing things, very hands-on. Nowadays, coaching is developing and the idea is that messages should be got across to players through small-sided games and stuff like that.
“It’s more abstract, more broken down, if you like. Sometimes that’s good but I still think that you need that old Jim McLean-style as well.
“Jim was a great coach but man-management was not his strong point. He was very straight and blunt.”