EVER since he took the salute as the honorary chieftain of the Highland Games at Bridge of Allan 20 years ago, Terry Butcher has enjoyed a status rarely bestowed on an Englishmen by a gathering of fiercely patriotic Scots.
There will be few, if any, of a sell-out crowd at Hampden tomorrow who will look upon the big man in the Scotland technical area and regard him first and foremost as a former England captain who famously spilled blood over the three lions on a shirt
he wore with pride 77 times.
It is a measure of the regard in which Butcher is now held in a country where he has lived and worked for 17 of the last 22 years that his appointment by George Burley as Scotland's assistant manager eight months ago was widely viewed as logical rather than controversial.
Like any manager, Burley wanted to surround himself with those in whom he has the utmost trust. His bond with Butcher stretches back three decades to when the young centre-half broke into a renowned Ipswich Town back four in which Burley was the endlessly reliable right-back.
To this day, both men remain in thrall to the footballing values instilled in them by Sir Bobby Robson at the Portman Road club and which form the basis of the more enterprising approach Burley has dedicated himself to bringing to the Scotland team.
In bringing Butcher on board, Burley recruited a right-hand man who provides him with ferocious loyalty and also commands the instant respect of every player selected for international duty.
In conversation with a couple of senior Scotland squad members this week, it was not surprising to learn that Butcher has quickly become a massively popular figure within the camp.
The 49-year-old has, of course, been there and done that as far as the World Cup is concerned. But having played on the biggest stage of them all in three separate tournaments would not in itself be enough to earn Butcher the admiration of those players he is now seeking to inspire on the road to the 2010 finals in South Africa. It is Butcher's strength of personality and ability to foster an esprit de corps among those around him which has quickly established him as a crucial link between Burley and the Scotland players.
Just as Ally McCoist performed the role to tremendous effect during Walter Smith's tenure as Scotland manager, so Butcher successfully combines his knowledge of the game with an infectious enthusiasm happily embraced by the men upon whose shoulders rest the hopes of World Cup qualification.
Butcher has almost been at pains to leave centre stage to Burley, only emerging from the technical area to pass on instructions when requested to do so by the manager.
But his thrilled reaction at full-time in Reykjavik last month, when he embraced almost every Scotland player following the vital 2-1 win over Iceland, said everything about how much his current job means to him.
"I'm a 100 per cent committed person, I do give everything to the particular cause I'm fighting," said Butcher earlier this year. "That cause now is Scotland. If Scotland lose, I'll get the blame and if we win, then George will get all the credit. I don't mind that."
Butcher admitted to reining in his natural instincts when Burley was the subject of some trigger-happy criticism following the 1-0 defeat to Macedonia in Skopje which opened the World Cup qualifying campaign.
While the manager kept his thoughts to himself, Butcher had to resist the temptation to respond with all guns blazing to those already raising doubts over Burley's suitability for the job.
Instead, he used his anger to foster a siege mentality among the players in the days before the Iceland fixture. Butcher's motivational skills will doubtless come to fore again this weekend and it seems he is the perfect foil for Burley and the more studious and reserved Steven Pressley.
"George is a strong character, both as a person and a manager," observed Butcher. "He has good thoughts and ideas for the national team.
"His record as a manager is far better than mine, so I'll leave the tactics to him. We will all have an input but George will make his own decisions. Steven Pressley and I will back that up 100 per cent. I want to give him the support I would look for from an assistant, which is total. He can trust me and I will give him everything I've got to try and make his job a big success.
"I fully understand people questioning my record in management, but this is a totally different environment to club football. And if some of the Tartan Army feel I shouldn't be here, they are entitled to feel that way.
"But what I'd say to them is that I've been to six World Cups, three as a player and three as a pundit, and it doesn't matter how you get there, so long as you are there. I want to help George get Scotland there."
Much has changed in the mentality of Terence Ian Butcher since his first visit to Hampden in 1982 when he headed against the crossbar and Paul Mariner snapped up the rebound to score the only goal of the 100th meeting of Scotland and England.
Back then, he revelled in victory over "the Jocks". Tomorrow afternoon, no-one at Hampden will harbour any greater desire for a Scottish win.
"I'm not being patronising, that's the way it is," said Butcher. "Scotland has been very, very good to me and my family for a long time. It sounds a bit corny, I know, but it would nice to repay this country for what it has given me."
FACTFILE• 1986: Joins Rangers from Ipswich. Wins three titles and two League Cups.
• 2001: Joins Motherwell as assistant to Eric Black.
• 2002: Takes over as Fir Park manager.
• 2003: Guides Motherwell to Scottish Cup semi-final, lose 4-3 to Rangers.
• 2005: Motherwell reach League Cup final, lose 5-1 to Rangers.
• 2008: Becomes Scotland assistant manager.
The full article contains 1034 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
