John Collins: Your Country Needs You

Beware, I suppose, expecting your heroes of yesteryear to still be giants today.

They often disappoint.

I used to think Ronnie Corbett was a comedy giant. Turns out he's a small man with an attitude problem.

Yet here I am in my thirties and I'm still in raptures about a guy I worshipped when I was eight and was thrilled by when I was 18.

Twice this summer I've seen him play. Bounce games, testimonials. But each time a vision, a skill, an ability to bring others into the game that I rarely see in Scottish football at the moment.

John Collins.

Obviously he's no use.

Crap at Hibs as manager. Upset the players by showing off his physique. Couldn't hack it when the club insisted that financial constraints couldn't be broken. Too arrogant.

Arrogance, of course, doesn't work in a manager. Brian Clough was humble. Jose Mourinho lacks that wee bit self confidence. Alex Ferguson wouldn't back himself in a two horse race.

Very Scottish, I think, to write Collins off for his arrogance.

Crap? Couldn't hack it?

Football men with the pedigree of Rob Jones and Rod Petrie seem to have formulated and disseminated that opinion.

So they must be right.

John Collins as Hibs manager was far from perfect. It's not a perfect club. But it ended far too prematurely for it to be considered the final word on his coaching career in Scotland.

Arrogant? Perhaps. Egotistical? Possibly.

Other countries try and deal with such problems in yesterday's heroes. Doesn't always work. But they try.

Not Scotland though. Jones and Chris Hogg thought Collins was a bit of a prick so we'll shut the door on him.

That makes sense, a real prioritising of considered opinion there.

Look at his talent, look at his career. Is there nobody in Scottish football who could benefit from his experience?

If the answer to that is "no" then I fear we're going about this football malarkey in entirely the wrong way.