"I've been a manager for 35 years. I've been manager of the year. I've won every award there is in football as a player. I think all those qualities put me head and shoulders above every other director of football.

"The manager can't do everything. I'm probably the only football manager to be a director of football. I don't know any other ex-managers who have."

Except of course Kenny Dalglish, Harry Redknapp, Steve Coppell, Barry Fry, Ron Atkinson, Avram Grant, David Pleat, Sven Goran-Eriksson and Dave Bassett to name but a few.