Terry Butcher has revealed how his former England team-mates “slaughter” him for working with the Scotland team.
Butcher, who won 77 caps for England, was appointed as Scotland’s assistant manager in February last year.
And in an exclusive interview in the new issue of FourFourTwo, out now, Butcher spills the beans on his tormentors.
“The English give me grief for taking this job, especially old team-mates like Viv Anderson, Tony Woodcock and Stuart Pearce," reveals the former England captain. "They slaughter me, so I try to avoid them.
"I sat next to Stuart at Wolves last year. He whispered to me: 'Next time you’re there, big man, take a look in the mirror. How’s your conscience?'"
However, Butcher – who has spent 17 of the last 22 years living in Scotland – defended his decision to join the Tartan Army.
His playing days included four years at Rangers, where he was appointed captain and won three League titles plus two Scottish League Cups.
Butcher’s management career also saw him work in Scotland, including four seasons at Motherwell, guiding them to the 2005 Scottish League Cup final.
"YOU ENGLISH B*ST*RD"
But for all his achievements north of the border, some Scotland fans are still unhappy to have an Englishman amidst their ranks.
“I did have one fan shout 'You English bastard' at me in Macedonia, but someone shut him up quick pretty quick, and that’s the only stick I’ve got,” said the 50-year-old.
However, while he says he has loved his time in Scotland, there's no danger of him switching allegiances.
“I’ll always be English and I’ll sing the national anthem,” he said. "I won’t sing the Scottish national anthem, even though I like it, because I’m not Scottish. I think that’s fair."
"I'D BE GOING BANANAS"
Always a passionate player, Butcher acknowledges he has a good foil in Scotland manager George Burley, who brought him onto the backroom staff.
“We have a good partnership," says Butcher. "He’s great fun, a joy to work with and I’ve learnt a lot from him. I wish I’d met him earlier in my career. The way he goes about training and structures his team are very positive.
“I don’t know how George keeps the peace (with the clubs and the press), because I’d be ranting and raving and going bananas. George is too much of a gentleman. He’s very level-headed and very focused.”
During the One On One interview, in which questions from members of the public are put to footballing legends, Butcher was told that former Scotland manager Craig Brown once endorsed Butcher as a candidate for the England job.
“Did he have a drink in him? Having known international football for a very brief time with Scotland, it’s a frustrating job in that you see the players for such a short amount of time,” said Butcher.
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For more, see FourFourTwo magazine, out now. If quoting, credit FourFourTwo magazine and link to this story.
The new issue of the magazine also includes the Football Rich List and exclusive interviews with Robinho, Dimitar Berbatov, Russell Brand and Woking boss Phil Gilchrist, among many others.
ENGLAND FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expanding interviews section for more stuff to read:
One on One Kevin Keegan, Sven-Göran Eriksson, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Gascoigne, Ian Wright
Web Exclusives Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, Glenn Hoddle, Wayne Rooney,
Q&A Fabio Capello, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott
Perfect XI Ian Wright
Boy's A Bit Special Theo Walcott, Gabri
