Football: He doesn't chuck many teacups, but Eck's a winner like

IT'S being billed as the teacher versus his star pupil, but 'Sir' Alex Ferguson knows he could be the one who ends up wearing the dunce's cap when Manchester United square up to Rangers on Wednesday.

Ibrox boss Alex McLeish was Ferguson's star pupil 20 years ago, as Aberdeen graduated with a stack of honours including the European Cup Winners Cup.

And just to add extra spice to this week's Battle Of Britain clash, McLeish is already being tipped as Ferguson's eventual successor at Old Trafford.

Both men recently signed new four-year contracts and their close personal friendship adds credence to the theory that McLeish could eventually end up in charge of Manchester United with Ferguson moving into the boardroom.

Former Scotland manager Craig Brown, who has worked closely with both men, believes McLeish, nicknamed Big Eck, could greatly enhance his managerial CV by master-minding a historic win at Ibrox.

And that the lessons McLeish has learned from men like Ferguson and Jock Stein have left him with the ideal grounding for a career at the very top.

He said: "When I was manager at Clyde and Fergie was at St Mirren and then Aberdeen, I watched a young Alex McLeish break into the Pittodrie side - and in those days that wasn't easy.

"I didn't know him well at that stage, but when I started working with Scotland I quickly realised he was a young man who was desperate to learn.

"He never missed a Largs Coaching Course and I'm sure Fergie encouraged him to get involved having identified him as a young man who was made for management.

"My first chance to observe Alex closely was when Fergie was manager of the World Cup side in Mexico in 1986 and I was one of the coaches.

"It was during that time I started to realise what a valuable influence he was in the dressing room.

"He has always had this wonderful, persuasive way about him and that's an invaluable asset for any manager. People want to play for him, it's as simple as that.

"He was always desperate to win and he will have learned a lot of great lessons from Fergie over more than 20 years.

"But make no mistake, the two men aren't clones. Alex has his own style of management and in many ways it's very different from Fergie's.

The stories about Fergie's teacup throwing, boot-kicking antics are legendary, but McLeish has a slightly more sensitive style of man management.

That is not to say that he is a soft touch, as Russell Latapy discovered when a boozy night out in Edinburgh shortly before Hibs Scottish Cup Final with Celtic, resulted in McLeish sacking the Trinidad star.

Interestingly Latapy's partner in crime that night was Dwight Yorke and the incident also spelt the end of his career at Old Trafford.

Brown added: Alex is a straight, up and down honest guy and those qualities have won him the respect and admiration of everyone in football.

"I remember him doing me a big favour when I was in charge of the Scotland Under 21 side.

Andy Roxburgh had left him out of the full team but I wanted a bit of experienced to add to the very good Under 21 side we had and thought about asking Alex for some help.

"When I told Andy he warned that I would be wasting my time because Alex had close on 50 full caps and would feel working with the Under-21s was beneath him.

Undaunted I decided to give the big man a call and I should never have doubted him. He was delighted to take a step back if it meant helping the team and of course, in time, it helped earn him a recall to the senior side."

McLeish went on to become the country's third most-capped player. Only Kenny Dalglish and Jim Leighton can beat his total of 77 appearances for the senior side, an achievement which earned him a place in Scotland's Hall Of Fame.

But success certainly hasn't gone to his head, nor is it likely to with people like Brown around

The two men have become close friends over the year and enjoy meeting up at stadiums and functions all over the world.

If there are other people around at the time Brown will often announce McLeish's arrival by saying, "Here he comes, the big man. Seventy seven international matches with lets say, an average of five corners per game, and he still didn't manage to score one header for his country."

"I was a decoy for Kenny Dalglish and he is still Scotland's top scorer," will be the reply the genial McLeish who can give as good as it gets when it comes to football banter.

All his experience will be put to good use at Ibrox on Wednesday as he tries to engineer a result which would leave Rangers on the brink of qualifying for the knock out stage of Europe's most prestigious club tournament.

Brown said: "Alex will draw on all the great epxerience he has picked up as a player and a manager. He's learnt from some of the all- time greats like Jock Stein and Fergie and he's more than ready for a test like Wednesday's game.

He was a big success in the early days of his managerial career at Motherwell and Hibs and winning a domestic treble during his first full season in charge at Rangers was a magnificent achievement.

"You could argue that Celtic's involvement in the UEFA Cup meant they took their eye off the ball at home. But there's no escaping the fact that Rangers did the treble against one of the best side's in Celtic's history.

"When he got the Rangers job there were people who felt the opportunity had come too early in his managerial career, but he quickly kicked kicked that idea in touch and in a relatively short space of time he has made the job his own.

"One thing that Rangers have going for them over these two matches is the fact that they are underdogs. That is a new experience for them, because in Scotland they are rarely, if ever, the underdogs.

"Being the outsiders will mean they can go for it against United. They will be able to give their all, with very little expectation to weigh them down.

"If they lose it won't be a disgrace and if they win it will be a massive result for Rangers and another major milestone in Alex's career.

"There's no doubt they can take encouragement from what Celtic achieved last season. Their victories over Liverpool and Blackburn raised more than a few eyebrows in England.

"Manchester United are a better team than Liverpool and Blackburn but they have shown that they can compete with Fergie's side, so there is no reason for Rangers to be overawed.

Yes, it will be difficult, it is for any team in the world who tackle United but I know that Alex will do all his preparatory work meticulously and his side will be ready for the job.

After Celtic's matches against Liverpool and Blackburn last season, I took great delight in going into our dressing room the next morning and asking our players if there had been a match on in England the night before - and did they know the score?"

If Rangers beat United on Wednesday night, Preston's players might not here the end of it for a very long time.

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