Former Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall: Jock Stein was an amazing man

ASK Neville Southall if he feels cheated because he never got to play for Wales in a major championship, and he’ll tell you about Jock Stein.

Southall was one of the world’s best goalkeepers during the 1980s and 1990s, but after eight failed attempts to play in either the World Cup or European Championships, he retired without ever gracing a tournament. The closest he came was back in 1985 when the Welsh had to win their final qualifier against Scotland at Ninian Park to book a place at the Mexico World Cup. The game finished 1-1, and while the Welsh players were feeling sorry for themselves in the dressing-room afterwards, the news filtered through that Stein had died in the stadium medical room after suffering a heart attack just before the final whistle. “Jock helped me out before that game started,” Southall recalls. “I always warmed up pre-match with five or six balls, but one after another they went into the Scotland fans behind me. “I gestured to them to throw them back but they just laughed. So I sought out Jock and asked him to have a word. “He came straight back with me and just held up his hands to the crowd. And just like that the balls all came flying back! “Those supporters just had so much respect for him. He was an amazing man. “We took the lead and were heading for the win we needed before the Scots were given a dodgy penalty. “Davie Cooper scored. I got my hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. “We sat there completely gutted afterwards, then someone came in and told us that Jock had died. “Missing out on a World Cup might be hard to take but it was nothing compared to what Jock’s family would be going through. “It showed that football isn’t really that important. That was brought home even more a few years later when Davie also tragically died while still in his 30s.”

Southall and Stein before the match (PA Archive) Wales currently top Group B in Euro 2016 qualifying and could even guarantee their participation in the Finals next week if they beat Cyprus and Israel and Bosnia don’t win in Belgium. Southall believes that they’ll get there. “They want shooting if they don’t!” he says with typical bluntness. But he has no truck with those who insist that a team with Gareth Bale in it deserves to be on the world stage. “You could argue that about the sides I was in,” he says. “We had Ian Rush who if he was playing these days would bring a bigger transfer fee than Gareth Mark Hughes, Kevin Ratcliffe, then later Ryan Giggs and Gary Speed. “But we missed out because we weren’t good enough. League tables never lie. “You only deserve to go to tournaments if the team as a whole is good enough. If you miss out, it’s just tough! “But I’m impressed with the current squad. Gareth obviously gets most of the attention but he has decent players around him. “Aaron Ramsay and Ashley Williams help give the team a really good spine and Chris Coleman is a good manager who’s built on the legacy Gary left. “As a country we deserve to be there and I’ll be absolutely chuffed if it happens. “I expect them to be professional and get the job done.”

Career Snapshot: Neville SouthallSigned for Everton for £150,000 from Bury in 1981 after spells at Llandudno Town, Bangor City, Conwy United and Winsford United.Picture credit: PA Archive

His Wales debut came against Northern Ireland in 1982 and he faced his all-time hero, Pat Jennings.Picture credit: David Cannon / Getty Images

Won first major medal when Everton lifted the FA Cup after beating Watford 2-0 at Wembley.Picture credit: David Cannon / Getty Images

His best ever year was 1985 when Everton won the First Division-European Cup Winners’ Cup double and he was voted Footballer of the Year.Picture credit: PA Archive

Sat against the goal-post during half-time in August 1990 because he wanted to “clear his head” as Everton trailed 0-2 to Leeds at Goodison.Picture credit: PA ArchiveProfessional is not a word Southall would use to describe Wales during his early days in the squad. In his autobiography, The Binman Chronicles, he describes a chaotic environment with players fighting for the best training kit, 6am flights and cheap hotels to cut costs and a regime run for the benefit of the committee men rather than the players. “We had a great spirit because the way we were treated was a joke,” he says. “Give credit to Bobby Gould when he became manager. He took on the Welsh FA and demanded better conditions. Mark Hughes then took it to another level. “I was proud to get my 92 caps but really disappointed not to get to 100. I thought I was worth that but Bobby didn’t fancy me. “I’d considered quitting after I let in two soft goals on another night we just failed to qualify we got beaten 2-1 by Romania and missed the USA World Cup in 1994. “Paul Bodin, our full-back, took most of the blame because he hit the bar with a penalty when it was 1-1. “I escaped the brunt of it but that was my lowest point ever. Wanting to quit was a knee-jerk reaction and I allowed myself to be talked out of it. “When I finished playing, I applied for the Wales manager’s job. I went through the interview process but Sparky got it. “The Welsh FA didn’t contact me on the day because they said they didn’t know where I was. “Strange, because I was coaching their Under-16s team in Aberystwyth at the time! “Maybe they thought I spoke my mind too much. They were probably right, but I think I’d have done OK.” These days Southall works with disadvantaged youngsters who have fallen out of mainstream education. He helps to address behavioural problems and sets up work-experience programmes. “I get as much satisfaction from what I do as I ever did from playing football,” he says. “It’s fantastic to watch a kid who’s been described as a ‘problem’ achieving something.” THE updated paperback edition of Southall’s acclaimed autobiography, The Binman Chronicles, is out now, published by deCoubertin Books.