On the fifth anniversary of Walter Smith’s death, Derek McInnes is among many who will pause to reflect on the influence the legendary Rangers manager had on both his life and career.
As the current occupant of the famous office at the top of Ibrox Stadium’s marble staircase, McInnes can still vividly recall the morning of Monday, November 25, 1996 when he marched up those steps and through that door intent on airing his grievances in a confrontation with Smith.
Instead, the then 25-year-old midfielder walked out with a winners’ medal in his pocket, a boost to his bank balance and an object lesson in man-management which has stayed with him to this day.
McInnes had been smarting at being left out of the Rangers squad for the League Cup Final the day before, a classic encounter at Celtic Park which saw a Paul Gascoigne-inspired Ibrox side defeat Hearts 4-3.
Having featured throughout their run to the final, including scoring in the semi-final win over Dunfermline, McInnes felt he had a strong case for a place on the bench at the very least.
In the days when just three substitutes were allowed, however, Smith opted for reserve keeper Theo Snelders, Dutch striker Peter van Vossen and left-back David Robertson, who had been struggling with injury.
Former Rangers manager Walter Smith passed away five years ago
‘There weren’t many times when I was really disappointed, but that was one of them,’ said McInnes.
‘The day before the final, I was sitting with Craig Moore and Charlie Miller and we were doing the maths and thinking that one of us might miss out.
‘I suggested we should split two full win bonuses between the three of us but Craig said right away, “Nah, I’m not having that, let’s just see who he picks”. Charlie was up for it but we couldn’t agree.
‘So the gaffer named the team on the Sunday morning at Ibrox before we headed to Celtic Park and it was Theo, van Vossen and Davie Robertson who came from nowhere for the bench. Craig and Charlie were both in the starting line-up. I looked over at Charlie for a bit of sympathy and just got the middle finger!
‘At the game, I was buzzing for the players winning but, sitting there with all my family, I was just a bit embarrassed that I wasn’t involved.
‘We went back to Ibrox afterwards and they were amazing nights when we went back to celebrate winning a trophy.
‘I remember being on the dance floor at one point and the gaffer grabbed me. I didn’t really want to engage with him then because I had it in my head I was going to go in and see him the next day.
Current Rangers boss Derek McInnes admits he soaked up the wisdom of the dugout legend
‘He said, “Come and see me at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning”. I said, “I was going to”. He said, “I know you will”.
‘So I went in, to the office I’m in now in at Ibrox, and he stood up. I had loads of stuff ready to say to him — that I’d played in every game up to the final, I’d scored in the semi-final, that Van Vossen couldn’t even spell Rangers, that David Robertson could only train on Fridays. I had all that in my head.
‘Before I could say any of it, he stood up and said, “here’s your medal” and handed it to me. He said I’d earned it and shook my hand. He said he’d give me the full bonus because I deserved it. So that kind of calmed me down a wee bit!
‘He then said he had to give me his reasons for leaving me out. He said his loyalty to David Robertson had been built up over a few years, that he’d told him to push himself to get fit for the final which he had done.
‘He said it was a hard decision and that one day, if I was sitting on the other side of the desk, I would understand it. When he explained it, it made sense, even though it was still such a blow because I was desperate to play in a cup final for Rangers.’
Smith, who passed away at the age of 73 five years ago today, remained a valued mentor to McInnes when he began his own managerial career which began at St Johnstone in 2007.
‘At the end of my first season there, I phoned Walter to tell him I was having to let a few players go and that a lot of them were my mates,’ he recalled.
‘He asked who the closest one was to me and I told him it was Allan McManus, who I used to travel to training with every day when I played for St Johnstone.
McInnes recalled the man-management lesson he took from his chat with Smith in 1996
‘I had to make a decision based on our budget to let one centre half go. It was between him and Kevin Rutkiewicz who was younger and quicker.
‘Walter said I should deal with that one first. He said that after that, every other one would be easier.
‘So I pulled Allan in and he was devastated. He thought he was going to be arguing for a three-year deal and that I’d only offer him two!
‘I phoned the gaffer later and he asked me how it went. He said these things are never easy but said I’d done the right thing. We went on to win promotion, so it was the right decision.
‘I learned that when you’re on this side of the desk as a manager, you’ve got to be brutally honest with players when they are asking you why they’re not playing or whatever it is.
‘They might not always like it or agree with you, but as long as you’re being honest, they’ll respect it. Because players can smell bull**** from a thousand paces.
‘I was on the other side as a player when I knew a manager was just spinning me a line and telling me what I wanted to hear.
‘The gaffer didn’t need to come in the next day after that cup final, he could have been enjoying the moment, but he obviously felt it was important enough to explain it to me.
‘There were lots of players in the Rangers dressing room closer to the gaffer than me but, as a manager, he respected me and I certainly respected him.
‘Once I became a manager, our relationship became a lot stronger and his eagerness to help and involve himself in my career was pleasing. I enjoyed all the moments I had with him, either face to face, sitting next to him at games or just on the phone.
Smith told McInnes of the importance of making your presence felt when you walk in a room
‘I last spoke to him was about three or four days before he passed away. Even then, he didn’t let on how ill he was. I remember I was sitting in my conservatory and we spoke about loads. He wasn’t one for hanging up or cutting the conversation short.
‘We were talking for ages and I just assumed he was getting better because he didn’t really mention his illness.
‘One of the last things he said that day was when he was talking about going to LMA meetings down south and there would be wee English know-it-alls walking into the room and giving a big presentation. He said they were full of themselves but had done nothing in the game. But he said they carried themselves well.
‘He said to me “We’re not great at that Del”. He said Scottish managers had to walk into a room as if they owned it. He felt it was knocked out of you as a wee boy in the west of Scotland — “right you, stop getting ahead of yourself, rein it in, who do you think you are?”.
‘He said it was constant from adults knocking that confidence and cockiness out of you. But he felt you actually needed that confidence, you really needed to portray yourself that way. He said it was something we needed to get better at in Scotland and I’ll always remember that.’
