Jim McLean

James Yuille McLean (born 2 August 1937) is a Scottish former football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winning three major honours. He was also part-time assistant manager to Jock Stein with the Scotland national team.

Jim McLean
Personal information
Full name James Yuille McLean
Date of birth (1937-08-02) 2 August 1937
Place of birth Larkhall, Scotland
Playing position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
Larkhall Thistle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956–1960 Hamilton Academical 129 (57)
1960–1965 Clyde 102 (32)
1965–1968 Dundee 90 (28)
1968–1970 Kilmarnock 56 (7)
Total 377 (124)
Teams managed
1971–1993 Dundee United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He led Dundee United to their only Scottish Football League title in 1982–83, following Scottish League Cup wins in 1979 and 1980. Under McLean, the club also lost in a further eight domestic cup finals. In European football, McLean's Dundee United reached the European Cup semi-finals in 1984 and the UEFA Cup final in 1987. He became a Dundee United director in 1984 and served as chairman between 1988 and 2000, when he resigned after assaulting a reporter. His involvement with the club finally ended in 2002 when he sold his majority shareholding.

His playing career included spells with Hamilton Academical, Clyde, Dundee and Kilmarnock as an inside forward. McLean is a member of a prominent footballing family; his brothers Tommy and Willie were also successful as players and managers.

McLean's achievements saw him win the first ever SFWA Manager of the Year award in 1987. He was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Early life

Jim McLean was born into a working-class family in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, on 2 August 1937,[1] the second of three sons of Tom and Annie McLean, and grew up in the nearby village of Ashgill. His maternal grandfather William Yuille had been a professional footballer, playing for Rangers before the First World War.[2] Tom McLean, a baker, had been a promising junior footballer before joining the Plymouth Brethren when he married. The three brothers, Willie, Jim and Tommy, who all went on to become professional football players and managers, had a strict religious upbringing.[3] After leaving school, McLean served an apprenticeship as a joiner, a career he continued to pursue part-time for much of his football career.

Playing career

McLean, who played as an inside forward, began his football career with the local junior club, Larkhall Thistle. He was the third member of the family to play for Larkhall, after his father – who appeared for them in a Scottish Junior Cup semi-final in 1932 – and his brother Willie.[4]

In 1956, he started his senior career with Hamilton Academical. He made more than 125 league appearances for Hamilton before leaving in 1960 to join Clyde. After playing in over 100 league games for Clyde, McLean was transferred to Dundee in 1965. His debut for Dundee came at Dens Park on 11 September 1965 when Dundee were beaten 5–0 by Dundee United, their heaviest ever defeat in a Dundee derby. After just under 100 league games, McLean moved on to his final club as a player, Kilmarnock, where he played alongside his brother Tommy. After making a total of 474 appearances and scoring 170 goals in his career, McLean retired from playing in 1970 and returned to Dundee as a coach in July of that year.

Management career

After he had been coaching at Dundee for 18 months, the club's local rivals Dundee United offered McLean the position of manager to replace the retiring Jerry Kerr in December 1971.[5] He accepted the offer and began his managerial career at the age of 34.[5] McLean immediately started a co-ordinated youth policy which was to produce many fine young players over the two decades which followed. In the short term, he used his knowledge of the Scottish scene to buy experienced players who would allow him to re-shape both the squad and the style of play in line with his approach to coaching.

Initially, the club's league form was average, remaining mostly mid-table for the next few years. McLean's first hint of the success he would later achieve was leading the club to its first Scottish Cup final in 1974, which they lost to Celtic.[5] It proved an important psychological step in McLean's and the club's development. The success of the Cup run was built upon the following season with a finish of fourth place, the club's best finish in the Scottish league to date.[5] As the Scottish leagues were restructured after this season, this position qualified United for the new Premier Division.[5] They struggled in the first season of the new setup, and needed a draw at Ibrox on the final day to avoid relegation (Dundee were relegated instead).[5]

As McLean's youth policy began to bear fruit as a batch of talented young players began to emerge, including Paul Sturrock and David Narey.[5] McLean decided that his team should mount a challenge for the League championship in 1978–79, something of which the club had never previously proved capable of. United started to prove that they were serious contenders for domestic honours. In December 1979, McLean guided his team to triumph in the League Cup by winning a replayed final against Aberdeen.[5] United retained the League Cup in 1980, defeating Dundee in the final.[5] They also reached the Scottish Cup Final in 1981, losing after a replay to Rangers.[5] At the same time as the club was enjoying a high standing Scottish football, McLean was gradually building the club's reputation in Europe.[5]

1980s success

Despite the progress he had made, few believed that McLean and United were potential Premier Division champions, Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen at that time were an emerging force in addition to the Old Firm. In the 1981–82 UEFA Cup United defeated AS Monaco and Borussia Mönchengladbach, but exited to Yugoslav side Radnicki Nis.[5] At this time McLean was also acting as assistant manager to Jock Stein with the Scotland national team, including at the 1982 World Cup.[5]

In 1982–83, it appeared that United had missed another chance of winning the league championship after they lost to Celtic in the first of two meetings in April.[5] In the second game, United had Richard Gough sent off with the score level but went on to win 3–2.[5] Celtic lost again on the following weekend and this left United in control.[5] A run of wins against Kilmarnock, Morton, Motherwell and Dundee (2–1 at Dens) clinched the league championship for United.[5]

Rangers, who had seen a decline in their fortunes over the previous few years, offered McLean the job as their manager later in 1983.[5] McLean engaged in early negotiations with the club; one of his main problems with the job offer was Rangers' policy of not signing Roman Catholics, a policy McLean found a ridiculous restriction for any employer as his United team included players from both faiths.[5] Despite the Rangers chairman assuring him that this policy would be scrapped if he accepted the job, McLean declined their offer.[5] He was happy at Dundee United, as his family were happily settled in the Broughty Ferry area of Dundee, and he also turned down an offer to manage English club Newcastle United in June 1984.

Following his team's League success in 1983, Dundee United made their debut in the European Cup.[5] McLean's counter-attacking tactics paired with a pressuring style brought some memorable results in that year's European campaign. United reached the semi-finals of the competition, which they lost 3–2 on aggregate to Roma.[5] Three years later McLean took the team to a European final in the UEFA Cup, defeating Barcelona and Borussia Mönchengladbach en route.[5] United lost 2–1 on aggregate to Swedish club IFK Gothenburg in the final.[5] For the rest of his managerial career McLean continued to secure United's high standing in domestic football, finishing outside the top four clubs only once. He also took the team to a further five Scottish Cup finals, but without winning the trophy.

Later years

The Dundee United board made McLean a director in 1984; four years later he became chairman and managing director, while still remaining the manager. He retained those joint responsibilities until stepping down as manager in July 1993, after a reign of almost 22 years. He remained as chairman after resigning as manager, stepping down from this role in October 2000 following an attack on BBC Scotland reporter John Barnes.[6] McLean returned briefly in January 2002 as a director[7] but departed a month later.[8] Still a majority shareholder, McLean sold his 42% stake to Eddie Thompson in October 2002, severing his Tannadice ties permanently after more than 30 years.[9]

After football

McLean formerly contributed a regular column to the Daily Record newspaper, giving his views on football. In October 2006, McLean criticised Eddie Thompson's running of Dundee United in his column, saying he had been a "disaster for the club". This led to the club withdrawing McLean's access "privileges" at Tannadice.[10]

McLean was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree by the University of Dundee in 2011, in recognition of his managerial achievements.[11] He was inducted into the Dundee United Hall of Fame in 2015, with the club describing him as "unquestionably, the most successful manager in the club's history, and unlikely to ever be surpassed".[12] As of August 2018, a group of United supporters are organising a fundraising scheme in order to build a statue of McLean outside Tannadice.[13]

In February 2020, the Dundee Repertory Theatre produced a play about McLean's life called Smile.[14][15] McLean was unable to attend a performance himself due to ill health, but it received the support of his wife Doris and their family.[14]

Honours

Manager
Dundee United

Individual
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References
  1. Pattullo, Alan (6 August 2017). "Alan Pattullo: 'Jim McLean deserves more recognition'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. (Rangers player) Yuille, William, FitbaStats
  3. Smith, Aidan (10 May 2014). "Tommy McLean talks old times and family dynasty". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  4. Kerr, Hugh. "Hughie's Teasers". Larkhall Thistle. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  5. Harris, Daniel (19 April 2017). "The forgotten story of ... Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. "Police investigate McLean incident". BBC Sport. 16 October 2000. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  7. Lindsay, Clive (8 January 2002). "McLean: King of Tannadice". BBC Sport.
  8. "McLean out at Tannadice". BBC Sport. 28 February 2002.
  9. "Dundee Utd takeover complete". BBC Sport. 26 September 2002.
  10. "Tannadice in McLean retaliation". BBC Sport. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  11. Argo, Andrew (1 June 2011). "Tannadice hero Jim McLean among Dundee University graduands". The Courier. Dundee. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  12. "Hall of Fame - 2015". Dundee United F.C. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  13. "Dundee United supporters in bid for Jim McLean statue". STV News. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  14. Ogston, Graeme (20 February 2020). "Jim McLean: New play reveals 'the man behind the grimace'". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  15. Radcliffe, Allan (24 February 2020). "Smile review — Portrait of United legend scores with fans". The Times. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

Further reading
  • McLean, Jim; Gallacher, Ken (1987). Jousting With Giants : the Jim McLean Story. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 1-85158-088-3.
  • Jim McLean at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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