McAllister must try to balance style with need for steel

Coventry's new player-manager has fresh back-room team and wealth of experience to draw on in fight for promotion

Nobody ever bought a season ticket or scarf on the strength of the appointment of a managerial deputy or a goalkeeping coach but, as a new member of the small band of player-managers, Gary McAllister believes the team behind the team could be the factor that turns potential into promotion for Coventry City.

After two silverware-strewn seasons with Liverpool, the former Scotland captain has dropped into the First Division with Coventry, six years after he first joined them from Leeds. In those days the Sky Blues were the eternal Premiership survivors, and as recently as last summer they were splashing millions in the hope of returning at the first attempt. Now the coffers are empty, forcing McAllister to lean heavily on his backroom staff as he strives to combine the dual roles.

Few have done it successfully. His predecessor, Roland Nilsson, retired as a player after a shattering defeat at Preston last spring and was soon sacked as manager. Kenny Dalglish was the exception that proved the rule. "Struggled, didn't he? Only won the Double immediately," McAllister quipped. "But seriously, the circumstances are different here and I fully understand the difficulties. That's why it was so important to bring in my own people."

Eric Black, a former Scotland striker, arrived as assistant manager after a spell in charge of cash-strapped Motherwell. Gary Mills, a European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest at 18 and Leicester team-mate of McAllister's, came from Tamworth as first-team coach.

Alan Hodgkinson, the former England goalkeeper who recommended Peter Schmeichel to Manchester United, is putting Coventry's custodians through their paces after long service with Scotland. From the club's FA Cup-winning side of 1987, Trevor Peake is now chief scout and Steve Ogrizovic director of the youth academy.

"I told the chairman, Mike McGinnity [himself new to the job], that the only way it could work with me continuing as a player was to have guys around me I trust to whom I can delegate," McAllister explained. "I wasn't about to kid myself I could do the coaching, devise the training, set up the pre-season work, organise hotels, etc. You can work round the clock if you try to do everything. The beauty of Eric and Gary is that they have both been managers."

The 37-year-old midfielder feels he can be influential on the pitch for at least another season, at the same time acknowledging that "the finish can come quickly at my age". He loved his sojourn at Anfield, particularly the first season. Having begun his career (with Motherwell) when Liverpool dominated Europe, he was proud of helping to restore the club to the Champions' League.

"The reception from the crowd in my last match rocked me back with emotion, and my son Jake was crying in the stand. But I had to go because I need to play regularly. I was gutted not to be playing in the big European games last season. You travel all the way to somewhere like Istanbul, train hard, and then there's nothing. Once I accept that sitting on the bench is OK, that will be a sign for me to stop."

If it concerns him "a touch" that he will be performing at a level he left in 1990, the feeling is counter-balanced by his familiarity with Highfield Road and many of the people there. "I realise I'll be playing at Grimsby rather than Barcelona, but marrying the roles makes it just as exciting as going to Liverpool. I just hope my enthusiasm rubs off on the players."

Coventry's parlous finances – they are between £30m and £60m in debt depending on whom you believe – mean everyone has his price; Magnus Hedman has joined Celtic, Blackburn covet David Thompson and Gary Breen cut the wage bill by going to West Ham. McAllister can not venture even a modest sum, his only signings being Dean Gordon, released by Middlesbrough, and Gary Caldwell on a long-term loan from Newcastle.

"It impressed me that the chairman was up front about the money position," he said. "Knowing what we've got, I still think we can do better than last season when we just missed the play-offs."

Richard Shaw and Muhamed Konjic offer experience at the back, Youssef Safri and Youssef Chippo should link with the "gaffer" in midfield, and in attack the onus is on Julian Joachim to produce the form that led Gordon Strachan to buy him from Aston Villa a year ago. However, with the age of the spree suddenly over, at Coventry and elsewhere, McAllister is especially keen to see Jay Bothroyd, Craig Pead and Gary McSheffrey fulfil their palpable promise.

"When you've watched the way Gérard Houllier gets the best from some of England's finest young players, you know the standards to aspire to," he said. How much of the Frenchman's methodology will he draw upon? "At the clubs where I managed to bag a trophy, Leeds and Liverpool, Gérard and Howard [Wilkinson] got the whole thing supremely organised.

"Attention to detail is crucial, because, looking at this division, there's not a great deal between the teams. They can all beat each other. You can lose 12 games and still win promotion. Getting little things right, like timekeeping, which some players may find petty, might make the difference."

He learned, too, from the gregarious Ron Atkinson and the disciplinarian Jock Wallace. And he was impressed by the meticulous planning of the man who made him Scotland's skipper, Craig Brown, and looks forward to their pitting wits when Coventry play Preston. There will be a more physical tussle with another old international ally in today's opener against Sheffield United, whose new player-coach is Stuart McCall. "The battle of the grinders," he grinned, "with two old men hanging in there."

Along with Wolves, Preston and relegated Leicester, Derby and Ipswich, he has a high regard for the stylish possession football instituted by Nigel Worthington at Norwich. The obvious inspiration for a manager with no little or no cash to play with is the success last season of West Bromwich, and McAllister was suitably impressed by the "fantastic resolve" and disdain for "names and reputations" shown by Gary Megson's men.

However, alongside his pragmatism runs a purist streak which ought to make Coventry worth watching. "The last two champions, Fulham and Manchester City, both footballed their way out of this league," said McAllister. "It's a myth that you just have to kick and battle. There can be a mix. West Brom proved you can grind your way out with loads of 1-0 wins. The ideal lies somewhere between them and Fulham."