'Like John Wayne!' - Former Sheffield Wednesday man recalls unorthodox technique of ex-Owls boss
Former Sheffield Wednesday defender, Graham Coughlan, has a lot of time for his old boss, Paul Sturrock...
Speaking on this week’s episode of our ‘All Wednesday’ show, the ex-Owl spoke about how Sturrock managed to persuade him to join the club, how he ended up falling in love with the city, and also a time when his old boss brought in a few beers to try and turn around their fortunes at Hillsborough.
“He had a brilliant way with the fans, a brilliant way with his players - I always called him a lovable rogue. But some of the things he used to do were chaos, there’s no way in the world that you’d get away with them now. With social media and stuff you’d be up in front of the FA or your chairman.
"I remember one day he asked us after training, it was a Friday, to not let anyone leave. We were wondering who was in trouble, who had upset the gaffer… We’d been struggling for form, hadn’t won at home for a few games and we were at home the following day - and he came barrelling into the canteen, kicking the door open like John Wayne, with a crate of beers. He put them down on the table, and said to us, ‘Right you lot, if you can’t play sober then you’ll play drunk!’”
“He made us have a beer the day before a game at Hillsborough, made us have a chat and put some music on, and about an hour later he asked me to get the lads who were playing out of there… But some of the stories I heard about that afternoon and evening with the staff and injured players… Lo and behold we went out the following day and won.”
You can watch the full episode right here by clicking this link, but you can also find us on ShotsTV - Freeview channel 262 - and also on Freely channel 565 at 10pm every Wednesday evening to get us on your big screen! For a short clip of the show, check out the short video clip at the top of the page.