‘After training Alan Hansen was having coffee and I said “I’ll have the same” then just as Jock Stein walked in Kenny Dalglish put a pint of lager in front of me’ Ally McCoist discusses the perils of being a young Scottish international in the 1980s

Rous Cup Final.Scotland V Brazil (0-2).Hampden - Glasgow.Brazil'S Geraldao (Left) Races In As Richard Gough And Ally Mccoist Advance
Ally McCoist (right) playing for Scotland vs Brazil in 1987 at Hampden Park (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ally McCoist is a Scottish footballing legend, playing 61 times for a country which has produced some of the greatest football managers of all-time. McCoist had the privilege of working with some of them.

His first call-up for the national team was under Jock Stein in 1985. He would make his debut the following year against the Netherlands in a 0-0 friendly, but as the squad new boy was a target for established international duty prankers.

“I was a young boy, a bag of nerves,” McCoist explains to FourFourTwo recalling his first international camp. “We trained, then went for a cup of coffee after lunch.

‘I can still feel the fear running through my body’

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 02: TNT Sports presenter Ally McCoist during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St. James Park on December 02, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Ally McCoist has become one of the game's most popular pundits (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Alan Hansen was having a coffee and I said, ‘I’ll have the same’. Just as Jock Stein walked in, Kenny Dalglish put a pint of lager down in front of me.

“I can still feel the fear running right through my body – for a minute and a half, I can remember the feeling of, ‘That man is going to kill me, this is my first and last Scotland trip’. But Big Jock was in on the gag. They were all in on it and had this whole thing planned!”

Kenny Dalglish of Scotland in action during a match against the German Democratic Republic in Scotland. The match ended in a 0-0 draw

Kenny Dalglish's final Scotland cap came in 1986, the year Ally McCoist made his international debut (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sadly for McCoist, and Scotland, Stein would die later that year at the conclusion of a 1986 World Cup qualifying game vs Wales. Davie Cooper scored late to earn a draw and a qualification play-off vs Australia (which they would go on to win).

But Stein, who was aged 62, had been under immense pressure and had stopped taking his medication for heart disease so as to not have the side effects impact on the match preparation. He died shortly after the game had finished in the Ninian Park medical room.

“One thing I remember about Jock was the respect and aura he carried with him,” says McCoist, who later won the European Golden Shoe with Rangers in 1992 and 1993. “He was physically imposing, but not aggressive. I was very lucky to work with some of the best.”

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Matthew Ketchell
Deputy Editor

A former goalkeeper, Ketch joined FourFourTwo as Deputy Editor in 2022 having worked across ChronicleLive, LeedsLive, Hull Daily Mail, YorkshireLive, Teesside Gazette and the Huddersfield Examiner as a Northern Football Editor. Prior to that he was the Senior Writer at BBC Match of the Day magazine. He has interviewed the likes of Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gareth Southgate and attended two World Cup finals and two Champions League finals. He has been a Newcastle United season ticket holder since 2000 and has a deep knowledge on the history and culture of football shirts.

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