A working class miner from a small village in Lanarkshire became Scotland’s greatest ever football manager and one of the biggest names in world football. ‘Jock Stein’ is the story of the miner, the man, and the football legend.
Broadcast on BBC ALBA in 2014. Winner of the Royal Television Society Scotland award for best sport film.
A coalminer born in South Lanarkshire in 1922, John ‘Jock’ Stein, who played for Albion Rovers, Llanelli Town and Celtic; and managed Dunfermline Athletic, Hibernian, Celtic, Leeds and Scotland, is one of the most revered figures in Scottish football and Scottish popular culture.
A man with a reputation for delivering dreams and aspirations on behalf of the nation, Jock Stein earned world recognition as the first British football manager to win the prestigious European Cup when his Celtic side won the trophy, against the odds, in 1967. Appointed the manager of the Scottish national side in 1978, the passionate Scot wore his pride for his country as a badge of honour, devastating that same nation when he tragically died while managing Scotland, on the 10th September 1985 at Ninian Park in Cardiff, immediately following an international match against Wales that would lead to Scotland’s qualification to the World Cup finals in 1986.
Broadcast on BBC ALBA in 2014, the film told the unique story of Jock Stein, the man, the footballer and the manager; a working class miner who never forgot his roots, the importance of family, and, in using his talents as a master in understanding both people and the art of football, drove his players and nation to unforgettable greatness.
The film features interviews with former players, including Bertie Auld, John Clark, Jim Craig, Danny McGrain, Gordon Strachan, Graeme Souness and Pat Stanton and broadcaster Archie Macpherson.
Writer / Producer / Director: Margot McCuaig
Filmed: Neil MacConnell
Editor: Steven Meechan
Presenter: Alex O’Henley
