Quite simply one of the greatest managers scottish football has ever seen.
His achievements with Dundee United in the 1980's were phenomenal. To take a small provincial club to the heights he did and achieve the success he did was testament to his motivational and tactical abilities and his great knowledge of the game. Yes, he was a hard, intimidating type in an era where that type of manager was common, but he got his club to where he wanted it to go. We are unlikely to ever see his like again. The days of clubs of Dundee United's size winning leagues and beating the best in Europe are all but over, but we live in hope.
His United team was based on a strong youth development carved out over many years, and a keen eye for a player. The players may have been in awe of him and possibly feared him, but they played for him. He got results. Great results. They became scottish champions in the 1982/83 season using just 14 players throughout the season. They had some great players like Narey, Hegarty, Milne, Sturrock, Dodds, Bannon and Gough. They had a reputation for being overly defensive, and yes they could be. However, his team could play. When you can go to the Nou Camp and defeat Barcelona 2-1 as they did in 1987, that says it all.
A sad day. RIP Jim.
A couple of footnotes; Jim McLean idolised Eddie Turnbull and saw him as his mentor. He said he learned so much from our Eddie. Famously after selling Alan Gordon to Hibs at the start of 1972 for £12,000, he said to Turnbull. "I have a feeling i've just been done".
I was at Tannadice in 1987 to see their UEFA Cup Final second leg against Gothenburg. They lost out on aggregate but the atmosphere inside the totally packed out stadium that night in a place not known for noise or atmosphere was absolutely electric. None of the crowd would leave at the end of the game till McLean came out so they could acclaim him.
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