Soccer: Vanquished troops rally behind their General Gordon

By GLENN MOORE

Popular Gordon Strachan has become the first Coventry manager since the 1950s to preside over a relegation. Yet, while there have been some expressions of discontent, there does not seem to be mass disgruntlement.

Highfield Rd rang to chants of "Strachan out" during January's abject defeat to Everton, but there was no such accompaniment at their last home match, a 0-2 loss to Liverpool, and the 2-3 loss at Aston Villa on Sunday which sealed their fate.

This, admits the club's chairman, Bryan Richardson, has made it easier to issue the unequivocal message from the boardroom: "Strachan stays."

"One would have expected a lot more flak," Richardson said, "but the feedback we've had is that people believe we have done the right thing in sticking with Gordon.

"I have faith in him. The only time you would say 'I have got to do something about this' is if a manager loses the players.

"There is no way back for a manager when he reaches that point: you can smell it in the dressing-room. But that is way off in this situation.

"The level of commitment of the players to Gordon is absolutely clear."

Craig Bellamy and John Hartson said as much when I spoke to them recently, but the best testimony comes from a former player, Robbie Keane, now at Leeds.

He said of the man who signed and sold him: "He's a great, great manager.

"He's a man I really respect. On the training pitch his coaching ability is second to none."

Richardson has been encouraged by the example of Charlton, Ipswich and Sunderland, all of whom have prospered after retaining a relegated manager, but he points especially to the success Manchester United have had since keeping patience with Sir Alex Ferguson.

This is ironic, given that Strachan is no longer on speaking terms with the man who had as great an influence on his career as any.

It was under Ferguson's tutelage that Strachan became an outstanding player with Aberdeen and, though Strachan moved south in 1984, they were paired again when Ferguson joined him at Old Trafford two years later.

Strachan's passionate advocacy of hard work, teamwork, youth and adventure mirror Ferguson, but it would be wrong to say the elder man inculcated these beliefs in the younger.

He always had desire, from his earliest days when he began the journey out of one of the rougher parts of Edinburgh by combining milk and paper rounds with lots of football.

After failing to make the grade with Hibernian, he tried again at Dundee and he now draws strength from the memory of those days.

"This is not so much a crisis as a testing point and how you handle them determines how far you go in life," Strachan said.

"Look at David Beckham and the Argentine thing [Beckham was sent off in a World Cup match for kicking an opponent]. He handled it brilliantly and has become a better, stronger person.

"I can remember at Dundee, being beaten 1-6 by Queen of the South. The manager gave me dog's abuse and I wondered if I would ever be a football player.

"You react either by becoming a better player, or by folding and going to Arbroath. It was the same when I went from Manchester United to Leeds. People said 'not a bad career, finished and done.' It is whether you believe that, or play another 10 years."

Strachan did the latter, winning the championship (before Ferguson did) and regaining his Scotland place before moving on to Coventry, initially as player-coach.

In November 1996, with City struggling, Ron Atkinson was suddenly moved upstairs and Strachan took over. Coventry went on to win at Tottenham on the final day of the season to stay up.

Richardson remembers being so shattered on that day that he forsook his customary Saturday-night dinner at a pub near his Cotswolds home for a McDonald's in the car. Strachan, new to the job and having to both play and manage, was equally drained.

Now, despite his continued leaping and bawling on the touchline, he insists he feels calmer and more in control, an observation Richardson agrees with.

"I have to do the shouting because we are a young side," Strachan said. "They find it hard to keep focused. It's easier to sit back and watch when you are Arsene Wenger with a team of international players who know what they are doing.

"We no longer have group leaders. We used to have Steve Ogrizovic in goal, Roland Nilsson in the back four, Gary McAllister in the middle of the park and Dion Dublin up front. Now, I have to be the group leader.

"Only time will tell the impact this has had on the young players. People say young players mostly know no fear, and if they do, it's for cup finals, one-offs. Grinding away for 15-20 games is a bit different. It drags on and they are told the consequences every day."

Strachan will admit that some of this season's decisions have been wrong, though he will not go into detail.

The club does not intend a fire sale, despite expecting gates to tumble by a third.

"We have got to be in a position to be favourites to come back up next season," Richardson said. "The players and the fans have got to be able to believe we are favourites."

- INDEPENDENT