Joe Jordan won’t give in to the foreign legion in English football

WHENEVER a top managerial job in England becomes available these days, Joe Jordan expects a foreigner to be appointed.

With 11 Premier League clubs handing men from beyond these shores their manager’s chair, you can understand the Scotland legend’s thought process.

Jordan has been a gaffer in his own right at clubs such as Hearts and Bristol City. But in the past decade he has been a mainstay beside Harry Redknapp as his first-team coach at Portsmouth, Spurs and QPR.

When Redknapp quit Loftus Road five months ago, Jordan remained loyal and went with him.

He’s now waiting to see what opportunities may come his way, but he is not firing his CV off to every available post at home and abroad. He will be patient.

Jordan told the Sunday Post: “It was a difficult time to leave the job at QPR. There isn’t much movement on the management side from February onwards. But I did keep myself involved by going to see plenty of games at different levels.

“Am I now at the stage I want back into football? Well, at the moment, it’s not easy to get back in!

“So many owners now choose foreign coaches, managers and assistants, in the Premier League and the Championship.

“It used to be it was only foreign footballers arrived to play here. Now we have many foreigners owning football clubs in the UK, and they look at all options, far and wide.

“But I’m open to things as I wouldn’t want to lose contact with the game.

“I’m in touch with Harry Redknapp. He decided to call it a day at QPR. He may be involved in some media work, but I’m sure he still has that desire to get back into management.

“So we may well work together again in the future. We had some great memories together, and we can look back fondly and with pride at some of things achieved.”

During the close season the jobs at West Ham, Newcastle United, Watford and Leicester City were all up for grabs. Only the Geordies appointed someone from these shores, in Steve McClaren.

Only four or five years ago, we had seven Scots Sir Alex Ferguson, Davie Moyes, Kenny Dalglish, Paul Lambert, Alex McLeish, Owen Coyle and Stevie Kean managing in England’s top flight. Now Alex Neil at Norwich City is on his own.

During more than 25 years in coaching and management, Jordan has been a part of many changes in our game, from the influence of agents to the freedom of contract ruling. Managers also have less power within the football club but have a greater degree of pressure to deliver success.

Jordan said: “The structure of the game of football has changed beyond all recognition. Chief executives and recruitment departments play big, big parts. Many clubs also have a director of football.

“All the different components need to work well with the manager. There has to be trust, and there has to be a willingness from the other people to try to bring in the players the manager or head coach has identified in order to improve the football team.

“Ultimately the buck stops with the manager. That pressure is still there. It’s probably even greater because some can be out of a job within six months. It’s of paramount importance the key relationships work well.

“However, in terms of players, it’s still the same. In order to get to the highest possible level you need ability, desire, emotion and professionalism. That will never change.”

Jordan could never be accused of lacking any of those qualities as a player.

From a teenager starting out his career in the inauspicious surroundings of Cappielow with Morton, Jordan enjoyed some monumental highs, from playing in three World Cups Finals for Scotland and getting into the SFA Hall of Fame to being a hit with Leeds United and Manchester United and successful spells in Serie A with AC Milan and Verona.

Jordan was affectionately known as ‘Lo Squalo’ Italian for Shark and also the name they used for the film ‘Jaws’ during his time abroad.

His spell of football allowed him to go back to Milan recently to take in some games and catch up with former team-mates.

Jordan smiled: “Having time off allowed me to do some travelling with my wife. We love Italy and spent some time back there. It was great to go back and visit some of our old haunts.

“I was also fortunate enough to see AC Milan and Verona play in the San Siro. A few of the legends from my time were there to watch the game, and it was great to be with people I hadn’t seen for around 20 years.

“Franco Baresi and Mauro Tassotti were there, and so was Roberto Antonelli. Roberto and I played up front for Milan.

“We travelled to work together every day, and he is Godfather to my son, Thomas. Roberto was at the game to watch his son, Luca, play for Milan.

“I had a great time playing in Italy. There was so much to enjoy about the lifestyle over there.

“As much as I love being involved in the game full-time and I’ve not had too many gaps being out of work allows you time to do different things.”

But for Joe, it’s a case of been there, done that. Now he’s ready to get back into football.