Fitzpatrick hails progress of new Villa manager Lambert

Tony Fitzpatrick recalls only one sound when he predicted Paul Lambert was a million-pound prospect – howls of derision.

Back in the 1980s when £1 million was a substantial transfer fee, the St Mirren legend boldly claimed Lambert would one day sell for a seven-figure sum. “I was laughed out of court,” said Fitzpatrick, recalling his early association with the man who will be officially named the new Aston Villa manager today.

“They even poked fun at me on Jonathan Watson’s radio programme because I had made my prediction. But you have to ask yourself now: how many millions Paul is worth?”

The pair were team-mates at Love Street in 1987, when the Saints lifted the Scottish Cup by beating Dundee United in the final. St Mirren captain Tony, who had missed each previous cup tie through injury, could only watch as his place was taken in the Hampden line-up by the 17-year-old Lambert, even though he was fit to play.

He also went on to manage Lambert at St Mirren but he says he quickly identified a steely will to win in his young charge.

Fitzpatrick recalled: “I was pretty hard on him, I’ll admit. I knew there was more inside him and I had to test his mental toughness. It’s the mind that separates good players from great players and I felt I had to try and stimulate his mental strength.

“I had worked under managers like Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson, Ricky McFarlane and Alex Smith. You take wee pieces out of them all as you develop your own managerial style.

“I can’t take any credit at all for what Paul has gone on to do in the game; he did it all himself. But I think he showed mental toughness when he left Motherwell to go to Germany and play for Borussia Dortmund. How brave was that? I really admire him so much for making that move to the continent. I’d even go as far as to say it was the making of him.”

Fitzpatrick is making moves of his own, launching an academy for youngsters at the Fives sports complex in East Kilbride. He has earned his European Youth Coaching badge and spent six years as development and community coach for the SFA. He plans to pass on his extensive experience to kids aged three and upwards during Saturday morning classes at Fives.

“It’s the size of East Kilbride that excites me,” said Fitzpatrick, who was made St Mirren captain by Ferguson at the tender age of 18. “There are so many boys’ clubs in the town and we’d love them to share sessions.

“Everyone knows the financial plight facing Scottish football. That won’t go away in the short term but the advantage for young Scots players is that clubs will need to grow their own talent in future. Youth development is a long-term policy – you have to nurture talent.”