Paul Sturrock grew up in Pitlochry in central Scotland. He said: "For every young boy, football was the be all and end all of life. We played every night after school - playing under the street lights - at that time you were allowed to play in parks. You never see that these days - there doesn't seem to be that community spirit."
At 14 Paul was playing for a mens' team despite being "a wee scrawny thing". Within a few months he had been noticed by Dundee United manager Jim Mclean and signed as an amateur in 1974.
He made 385 league appearances for Dundee United followed, in what was the club's most successful period. Paul won 20 Scottish caps, despite being in the international squad about 60 times: "From day one, Jock Stein said 'Paul, whenever Kenny Dalglish isn't fit, you'll play'. That was enough of an accolade for me!"
Highlights at Tannadice included beating Barcelona home and away - only team to do so: "It was a great night for for Scottish football. The UEFA Cup Final was called the 'friendly final' but it was disappointing not winning. I also had an ambition to play in the World Cup and fulfilled it in 1986"
Despite offers from Celtic, Manchester United and West Ham, in a time before Bosman, there was less chance for Sturrock to move away from the one club: "Dundee Utd was like a family to me for 23 years. I would loved to have played on a bigger stage, but you have to remember Dundee United were playing in Europe every year at that time."
It was under Jim Mclean that Paul also started coaching junior teams, while still turning out for the first team.
After his playing career, Sturrock took his first steps into management at St Johnstone, turning a team 13 points adrift at the foot of the Scottish Premier League into one challenging for a European place within 2 years.
He admitted a move back to Dundee United was ill advised: "I wanted to do something slowly, but the pressures of where Dundee United had been was too much. Stepping down was probably the saddest day of my life."
Sturrock achieved more success with a first move South of the border to Plymouth, winning the Third Division title and steering them to the top of the second.
Paul counts the relationship with his chairmen as the keystone of success at St Johnstone and Plymouth: He admitted leaving the Pilgrims was an emotional time: "It gets close to your heart - I like to affect peoples lives and be involved with people at the club."
When he went to Southampton in 2004 he saidl:"The pressure is a bit more - I tasted that at Dundee united. My wife is going to slap me around to make sure I unwind! I'm going to try and get myself fit and back in shape again - it might take a while! But it's all about pitting your wits against some quality managers who have some money to spend."
Sturrock won his first battle of wits against Liverpool: "It was incredible to walk out to 30,000 plus - it was great atmosphere. I don't like the razzmatazz, but it was enjoyable. Fans look for a big name manager and I know some of the Southampton faithful had looked for a foreign manager, so to hear the appreciation was fantastic."
Sturrock met his wife, Barbara at a youth club he was coaching at and the couple celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. They have 3 boys and one girl. 22 year old Blair is currently on Plymouth's books and "starting to develop as a player."
He acknowledges the toll a football career can have on family life:"We've had good times but it's difficult for the family. Management is a 24-7 job - at times Barbara has been both mum and dad - I love them to death obviously, but it's difficult"
"Food is a big thing - I like to unwind with friends with a nice meal and a craic, wine is a hobby and I love films - could watch them all day if I could!"
"The secret of football is to work very hard on the one-on-one relationship, knowing what's going on with the boys - lots of bonding. I'm going to make a host of mistakes at Southampton, like I have at St Johnson, Dundee United and Plymouth - it's all about rectifying those mistakes and making sure you don't do them again. You are always learning as a manager - on and off the pitch."
That man-managment is now all-important according to Sturrock: "You have to build on players' strengths, work on the weaknesses without them knowing - there is always things to be worked on and these bunch are very receptive to things."
Developing young players is key to Sturrock's thinking on the game - Billy Dodds and Duncan Ferguson are two internationals he brought through the books at St Johnstone.
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