5 best Scottish managers of all time

It wasn't long ago that the Premier League was dominated by managers from north of the border: in 2011/2012, there were as many as six Scottish managers in the league, including two who feature in this article.

Since then, however, their numbers have dwindled, along with their reputations. Paul Lambert and David Moyes have both departed their clubs, Stoke City and West Ham respectively, at the culmination of this campaign after poor showings.

It's a worrying trend, for Scotland boasts a proud managerial history; indeed, many top coaches have journeyed to the country to earn their coaching badges due to its impressive reputation. With the national team still struggling to qualify for major tournaments, the country could use some new managers of high quality to turn things around. As it is, this article looks at the 5 best Scottish managers of all time.

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#5 Walter Smith

During the Scottish national team’s woes over the last year, the 70-year-old Smith emerged as a favourite to take over as manager; while this could have seemed like a rash and rushed idea, such is Smith’s authority and influence over Scottish football that he might just have been the strongest candidate for the role. He enjoyed a strong spell before in charge of his country, from 2004 until 2007, nearly taking them to the 2006 World Cup, and improving their world ranking by a massive seventy points.

It’s as an icon of Rangers, however, that he’s most known for. During two spells in charge of the Glasgow club, he won 10 league titles and 5 Scottish Cups. He started out as Graeme Souness’ assistant in 1986, as Rangers entered an era of utter dominance in Scotland.

When Souness departed for Liverpool and England, Smith was the natural choice to succeed him and succeed him he did. 7 league titles followed, a historic ten in a row only stopped in dramatic fashion by old foes Celtic on the last day of the season. A poor spell in England with Everton did interrupt his two spells but his imprint in Scotland cannot be ignored.

He returned to Ibrox in 2007, with the club in disarray after Paul le Guen’s disastrous managerial reign, and he steadied the ship immediately. He guided the club to three league wins in a row from 2009 to 2011, usurping Celtic in the process. Smith also made his mark in European competition, taking Rangers to a shocking UEFA Cup final in 2008, when they lost to Zenit St. Petersburg.

His teams never played attacking football worthy of praise, with Smith and Rangers known for their dull, defensive shape during this time, but his impact was mighty and Scottish football wouldn’t be the same without him.

#4 Bill Shankly

Shankly salutes his adoring Liverpool support

Before Ferguson transformed a team in his own inimitable way, Bill Shankly did the same with Liverpool. When he took charge in 1959, they weren’t the club they are now: Liverpool were languishing in the Second Division, their fifth season there, and the stadium was in terrible disrepair.

Shankly’s sheer force of personality soon began to turn things around, forming close bonds with his coaching staff, including Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan, who would both so successfully succeed Shankly in full charge. The Scotsman envisioned Liverpool as being the best club in England and often forced the board to sign the players he believed he needed to take them to the top.

By only 1964, he had won them the First Division league title and two more followed, in 1966 and 1973. He also won two FA Cups (1965 and 1974) and triumphed in the UEFA Cup in 1973, the club’s first European trophy. Shankly’s personality linked perfectly with Liverpool’s fervent support and his face still adorns banners and posters in the Anfield stands to this day.

While he didn’t consistently deliver trophies in his time at the club, Shankly’s success is better measured in the club Liverpool became after he left; it’s not an overstatement to say that all they’ve achieved, all the European Cups and glorious Anfield nights, are owed to Bill Shankly.

#3 Kenny Dalglish

Dalglish is all smiles during his second spell in charge of Liverpool

Another Liverpool icon, Dalglish transferred his supreme playing talents to the manager’s bench in 1985. By that point, he had firmly established himself as one of the club’s greatest ever players: scorer of 169 goals, winner of five league titles and an incredible three European Cups.

He began as player-manager in 1985-1986 and soon won the club its first ‘double’ of league and FA Cup. He purchased players wisely, with Peter Beardsley and John Barnes going on to become pivotal attackng figures in proceeding years after joining in 1987.

In six years at the helm, he oversaw three league titles, 2 FA Cups. Dalglish departed for Blackburn Rovers in 1991 and took the unfashionable club to an unlikely Premier League title in 1995, perhaps the most surprising until Leicester City’s astounding triumph in 2016.

He spent big, certainly, signing the legendary Alan Shearer for a huge sum, but Dalglish still had to guide the team through a brutal campaign. Lesser - and short - spells as manager of Newcastle and Celtic followed before Dalglish returned to Liverpool after 11 years out of football management in 2011.

Taking over from the inept Roy Hodgson, Dalglish solidified the shaky club and ended with the 2012 League Cup to show for his efforts. He was arguably a better player than manager, but his success off the pitch merely highlights just how good he was on it.

#2 Sir Alex Ferguson

Ferguson with the trophy he regularly brought back to Old Trafford

Very little has to be said about Ferguson’s huge achievements in football. He’s frequently hailed as the greatest manager of all time and such claims are entirely merited. He dominated first Scottish football and then English football with Aberdeen and famously with Manchester United.

In his home country, Ferguson completely dismantled the Celtic and Rangers monopoly on the league title, winning three league titles between 1980 and 1985. He also superbly guided the unfancied side to the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, beating the heavy favourites Real Madrid 1-0 in the final.

Manchester United, naturally, came calling based on these remarkable successes but Ferguson initially struggled down in England; indeed, he was within one game of getting sacked in 1990, when an FA Cup final victory over Crystal Palace effectively saved his job.

The rest, as they say, is history. 13 Premier League titles, a further 4 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, and 2 Champions League triumphs. Ferguson stated his desire, much like Shankly before him, to take his club to the pinnacle of English football, and he did so immensely. Manchester United are the global icon they are now wholly because of his powerful presence over twenty incredible years.

It was fitting, then, when Ferguson retired from management firmly at the top, guiding Manchester United to the 2013 league title. The Scotsman sadly suffered a brain haemorrhage only a few weeks ago, but of course, battled it successfully and is now thankfully in recovery; a titan both in and out of football.

#1 Jock Stein

Celtic's greatest ever manager was cast in Bronze

It speaks volumes to be named as Ferguson’s idol but that’s what Jock Stein was: he took the future Manchester United legend on as his assistant for the Scottish national team and the two guided their country to the 1986 World Cup finals just as Stein succumbed to an untimely death during the key clash against Wales.

What he left behind was an imposing managerial career, mostly with Celtic, who he took to the pinnacle of European football. Stein took over in 1965, when the club were struggling with mixed results and poor form, and soon completely transformed them, much like his close friend Shankly did with Liverpool.

In his first full season, Stein delivered the league title; eight more followed, a then Scottish record. It was the 1966/1967 campaign that truly provided his legacy when Celtic became the first British club to win the European Cup. They did it in mighty fashion, too, beating the much-favoured and mighty Inter Milan 2-1 in an extremely one-sided contest.

In the process, he also became the first manager to win all the competitions he entered in one season. Perhaps Shankly put it best himself when he said shortly afterwards, “John (Jock), you’re immortal now.”