Sheffield United: Rangers hero Walter Smith left John Fleck 'speechless' - as Sir Alex Ferguson leads tributes

But when John Fleck discovered Walter Smith sitting inside an office at Sheffield United’s training complex, the midfielder immediately morphed back into the same tongue-tied wee boy who had made his Rangers debut under the Ibrox legend over a decade earlier.

“When we got promoted, Walter came to see Chris (Wilder) at that point to have a meeting with him,” Fleck says, describing his last meaningful encounter with Smith before the 73-year-old’s death was announced. “He was on LMA business I think, giving support to a fellow boss and making sure he knew everything that was going to happen once we’d gone up. That’s when I saw him.

“When Walter was in a room, you knew he was there because he had a presence, everyone had so much respect for him. The strange thing was, and I suppose it’s funny looking back, I just didn’t know what to say to him. Even though I’d grown up and done lots of things in the meantime, that was just how highly I looked at him.”

Fleck has been reflecting upon Smith’s impact, not only on his own career but also football in general, since news of his passing was made public on Wednesday. “It was horrendous, just horrendous, when I got the news in the morning.” The stature of those who led the tributes reflects the scale of Smith’s achievements, with Sir Alex Ferguson labelling him “special” and Graeme Souness “a colossus.” But although he is also in awe of a CV which includes 10 Scottish Premiership titles, Fleck prefers to remember the man rather than the manager who handed him his first big break as a star-struck teenager.

“It was my dream as a kid to play for that club and he gave me that dream, he made it come true,” Fleck says, casting his mind back to the cold, crisp January afternoon when Smith named him in the Rangers side which was about to face East Stirlingshire in a Scottish Cup match. “Growing up as a fan, I always knew he was a great figure but I didn’t realise how great until he brought me into the team - and what a great team it was.

“He was brilliant at what he did, and his record speaks for itself. Very few people will ever have that kind of success. But outside of football, he was just a remarkable person too. He treated everyone the same, no matter who you were. He was just a wonderful human being.”

But Smith could be a formidable character too as Fleck, who made 58 appearances for the Glaswegians before heading to England, discovered when he fell below the standards expected of those who pull on the Rangers shirt.

“Walter, or Sir Walter as he’s called, he was very humble. But you didn’t want to see the angry side of him and he let me know in no uncertain terms when he felt I wasn’t doing what was required.

“He dropped me out of the squad for a pre-season tournament and it wasn’t nice at the time. But he just wanted me to know and, because of what I thought of him, I wanted to put that right.”

Fleck enlisted the services of his cousin, who runs a boxing gym in the city, to help him get back in Smith’s good books.

“He was an ex-fighter and he’s still got his own place in the city, in a place called Robroyston. I went there to do a bit of training, to try and get fitter and sharper, because I was determined to prove that I’d accepted the situation - even if I didn’t like it, which was obviously the case.

“I go whenever I’m up there, although that’s not been very much lately. And I wouldn’t say I’m a very good boxer but I enjoy a bit of training. Anyway, back then it did the trick and now I’m 30, I can look at what happened and think ‘Walter was right.’ Which he was. He instinctively knew what to do at exactly the right time.”

Fleck will carry one of Smith’s teachings into tomorrow’s game against Blackpool, where he spent a brief period on loan before joining Coventry City. Having moved to United in the summer of 2016, he won the League One title during his first season in South Yorkshire and then helped them reach the top-flight 24 months later. Now back in the Championship, United have made a chequered start to life under Wilder’s successor Slavisa Jokanovic. But, only three points outside the play-off positions, Fleck believes his team mates are beginning to grasp the methods which helped the Serb guide Watford and Fulham out of the second tier before taking charge in July.

“We’ve been a bit inconsistent but I suppose that’s only to be expected when you’ve had one way of playing ingrained in you for four and a half years and then you change to something different,” he says. “But we’re all really enjoying it, loving it in fact, and I think we’re getting there now.

“I’ve not been at my best, I admit it. But one of the biggest lessons I’ll always take from working under him (Smith) was the importance of trying your best every single day. It might not have been going for you on the pitch but, if he could see you were doing that, he’d never take anything away from you.

“Even now, I always know that if I’m not playing so well then it’s important to work hard - harder even. If you do that, then it will happen. That’s probably the most important thing I took from him.”