Joe Jordan was on his toes when Don Revie began to comb his hair

Joe Jordan reports that, unlike some managers, he was never one to give players the hairdryer treatment when he became a boss. Picture: SNS.

The episode, which has left Hibs looking both silly and for a successor to Lennon, has precipitated a wider debate about what the modern-day manager can “get away with” when dishing out dressing-room dressing downs – as the Irishman admitted he was not averse to doing. It is considered to have been standard practice in previous eras when players who were hard-bitten types would stand tall as even more hard-bitten managers chewed their faces off.

Few players stood taller, or played with more of an edge, than Joe Jordan. Yet, the 67-year-old can’t recount stories of boots or tea cups being propelled in his direction by an irate boss, nor of his doing so as a frustrated such figure.

Jordan’s career took the 53-times Scotland striker from Morton to Leeds United, before spells with Manchester United and AC Milan. It was followed by management and coaching positions that included frontline roles with Hearts and Bristol City, and lieutenant duties to Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, and to Liam Brady at Celtic.

Jordan was “never” a ranter and raver in his time directing players. Perhaps because the most influential trackside figure in his football odyssey after heading south to join up at Elland Road in 1970 was Don Revie. His management style appeared less hairdryer than hair comb, it was put to the Scottish great yesterday, as he conjured up an image of the Leeds dressing room as a place where it was players who had their team-mates in the crosshairs.

“I can honestly say I can’t remember a hair dryer moment from Don Revie,” said Jordan. “But when he wanted time to compose himself after a game, he would go to a mirror and he would start to comb his hair. It was just a subtle way of letting it be known he wasn’t happy.

“He’d be taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. One time we had been on a great run and we lost 2-0 at Stoke. [Leeds coach] Les Cocker was there and Don said to him, ‘it’s time we brought a couple of players in here’. It was overheard in the dressing room and we all knew what it meant. Everyone was on their toes. There was no need to read the riot act because we knew if we didn’t buck up our ideas there would be changes.

“Revie didn’t tend to be a manager who would put his point across immediately after a game. He was pretty disciplined and composed, and on the rare occasion it did happen, it would be on a Monday morning.

“In fairness, we had a dressing room that was fairly self-policing. Guys like Jackie Charlton, Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles would often voice their opinions. As strong as Don Revie was to handle all of those characters, it would have been the players it came down to when it came to what was needing to be said. That went on to the training ground as well. Revie wasn’t the one to give rollockings, it was the players themselves who set the standards on a day-to-day basis.

“If I stepped out of turn then I would have been put in my place immediately. You need to take it on board quickly because they wouldn’t tell you twice.

“That’s where I learned the game. Revie wasn’t one to point the finger or tear shreds off players, and I wasn’t like that as a coach either.

“That was a top dressing room though and it’s not always the case. Sometimes you need to give them a picture and try to put them in a spot where they know what the fans expect. The game has changed though. The basics haven’t changed in what you expect from a player or a team, but you look at the money involved and things are different as an industry. Can you behave the same way as years ago? No way.”

l Joe Jordan was speaking at the launch of Sporting Heroes, a collaboration between Football Memories Scotland and the Co-op. You can learn more at www.footballmemories.org.uk and www.coop.co.uk/memorycards.”