Steve Nicol, who took charge of the MLS All-Stars against Celtic this morning, has praised Gordon Strachan for the way he defied his critics to win two trophies.
Gordon Strachan fielded flak last year when Celtic's exhausting pre-season travels to Poland, the US and Japan prompted fears of burnout in the pursuit of bucks.
The former international roommates - "It didn't last long; he was the problem, not me" - have taken very different routes into management but Nicol still admires Strachan.
"There are certain jobs where, whether you have a good team or a bad team, you are just climbing a hill all the time. The Celtic job is one of those," Nicol said. "Whatever Gordon does, someone will be telling him he is doing it the wrong way.
"Twelve months ago, when he came here, a lot of the press and folk back home were giving him stick. But he stood up to it, told them he thought he was doing the right thing and went on to win the championship.
"They say Gordon isn't a Celtic man' but, listen, I'm a Rangers supporter and I don't care who manages Rangers . . . as long as they win. That's the bottom line. If you have a winning team Mickey Mouse can coach them."
Nicol revealed that he came very close to joining Rangers in 1986 and that he had another chance in 1981, only leaving for Liverpool after Rangers failed to meet Ayr United's £300,000 price.
"It's one of my great regrets not playing in an Old Firm game," he said, "but think I made the right decision staying at Liverpool."
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