Andy Robertson cost Dundee United £4000 and angry supporters threatened to CANCEL season tickets over transfer (original) (raw)

Jackie McNamara was the man who signed the now Scotland skipper at Tannadice 13 years ago

Andy Robertson for four thousand pounds.

And supporters threatening to CANCEL their season tickets as a result.

Jackie McNamara was the manager at Dundee United when that incredible piece of business - and equally astonishing backlash from some fans - went through.

Thirteen years on from the double deal that took Scotland skipper Robbo and Aiden Connolly from Queen’s Park to Tannadice for a combined £5000, McNamara still shakes his head at it all.

But he’s sure of one thing. No signing he made in his management career at United, Partick Thistle or York City will ever match that deal to land the scrawny teenage left back who made the most of his opportunity at the Spiders having been dumped by Celtic as a kid.

Within a year of moving to United, Robertson had turned their bargain outlay into a monster £3million profit thanks to a move to Premier League Hull City.

Another three years later he would be off to Liverpool, winning Champions League and Premier League titles and being widely regraded as one of the best left backs on the planet.

Now he’s about to lead out Scotland for a first World Cup fixture in 28 years as he close in on Kenny Dalglish’s record 102 caps for his country.

And it’s all left McNamara bursting with pride at his greatest ever signing.

He said: “He’s done great, credit to him. For any young kids told they are not good enough and released by their clubs, his story is a real inspiration.

“People might have an opinion about you but you can change that every time you play. You have that opportunity.

“Andy went down to the lowest tier in Scotland and worked his way back up.

“I signed him and Aiden Connelly together for £5000 - I think it was four for Andy and one for Aiden.

“It was a good deal although when we were parading them one of the United directors pulled me.

“He said some fans had emailed in to say they weren’t going to renew their season books because they weren’t going to watch Queen’s Park players.

“Twelve months later it was ‘How can you sell him?!’

“That’s football, you get that everywhere but that one always stuck with me.”

“Best ever signing? Yeah, he was. When I started managing that is what I looked for in young players.

“All the ones I signed at Partick Thistle before I went to United were buys who had been released.

“Stevie Lawless from Motherwell, Stephen O’Donnell from Celtic, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.

“Maybe it was because it happened to me as a kid. I got the rejection from Hibs and had to go to Dunfermline and work my way up. I wanted to give people another opportunity to get where they want to go.

“Obviously Andy is the biggest story, he has captained the country, he has won titles and the Champions League, but they have all made it.

“The likes of Stephen O’Donnell have become international footballers, and they have all carved out good careers.”

Robertson, who signed for Spurs on Friday, moved to Tannadice at 19 as a replacement for Barry Douglas and within 12 months had matured into a physical specimen ready for the rigours of the top flight of English football.

His progress at United saw him win his first full cap under Gordon Strachan - in a friendly win in Poland - three months before he left for Hull.

And McNamara said: “If you look at the photographs when Andy arrived and at the end of the season in which he had done all the strength training with the guys up at the University of St Andrews, he looks like a different player.

“But he was ready mentally when he first came in.

“I had thought we might need to get another left back as Barry Douglas had just left to go to Poland.

“I took Graham Carey with us on trial to Germany. Graham is a good footballer, but he is predominately more forward thinking.

“But Andy, a young kid, just hit the ground running.

“Sometimes you maybe need to take them out after five or six games, but he never looked back. At 19 he was just ready.”

McNamara was a young member of the last Scotland side to feature at the World Cup way back in 1998.

At 24-year-old the former Celtic right back was a youngster in Craig Brown’s ageing squad but made two appearances against Norway and Morocco.

Brentford right back Aaron Hickey will be the same age by the time Steve Clarke’s side get their campaign underway against Haiti on June 13.

And McNamara said: “I like him, he is a very good player. A good footballer who can play right or left back no problem and a few other positions too.

“Even when he was a young kid at Hearts, coming down with cramp playing against Moussa Dembele of Celtic, you could always tell he was going to do well as he made really good decisions.”

Meanwhile, McNamara thought his World Cup breakthrough in 1998 would open the door to regular major tournaments with Scotland.

Little did he know it would be his first - and last.

The former Celtic right back was one of the younger members of Craig Brown’s squad at France ’98 but was in high spirits having been named PFA Scotland player of the year just a month earlier.

He appeared twice - as a second half sub in the draw with Norway before starting the 3-0 defeat to Morocco which consigned the Scots to another early exit.

McNamara was convinced he’d have more big tournaments ahead but European Championships play-off defeats to England in 1999 and the Netherlands in 2003 were as close as he got.

That’s why he hopes the group of players preparing to kick off against Haiti in North America this week make the most of their huge opportunity.

He said: “I think we have got a good chance. Haiti in the first one is a bit of the unknown - but obviously a really important one.

“I don’t think anyone will expect us to beat Brazil which takes the pressure off the players and we do our best when we are underdogs.

“I am just delighted we are back.

“I was 24 at France ‘98 and I was one of the younger ones in the squad.

“At the time I was thinking it would be the first of a few, that the next one would be 2002 in Japan and so on.

“And then suddenly you’re finished!

“I genuinely thought I would have another crack at that or the Euros.

“A few times we came close, a bit unfortunate with the play offs with England and then Holland, who we upset in the first game by beating them 1-0.

“It wasn’t easy to qualify then.

“I was Player of the Year at the time of that World Cup and was standing with Simon Donnelly and a few of the hamper boys, Paul Gallacher, Kieron McAnespie, Mark Burchill and Darren Young.

“Wee Craig said ‘Donnelly, McNamara, McAnespie and Young – Japan 2002’.

“And I was thinking what about now?

“When you have just been Player of the Year you think you have a good chance to be playing.

“I came on in the second game, against Norway, and started the last one, against Morocco.”

McNamara never got a run out against the samba superstars of Brazil.

But he’s still never forget the occasion as Scotland opened the tournament against the holders in the State de France - having turned up for the opening ceremony in their kilts in sweltering heat.

He recalled: “Hot! And sweaty. It was brilliant to be involved in, watching all the Tartan Army as you come into the stadium and once you got there.

“The whole experience was brilliant. When you are there as a player with all your family: my dad, my uncles, my brothers, part of you want to be with them enjoying it but then the other side of you would rather be playing.”