Crunchie: The best Falkirk boss the Bairns never had?

Falkirk legend Alex Totten has admitted he touted the club’s Player of the Millenium Kevin McAllister for a role in the Bairns’ hotseat.
Alex Totten has been close to McAllister ever since signing him from Camelon in the 1980s. Picture: Michael Gillen.Alex Totten has been close to McAllister ever since signing him from Camelon in the 1980s. Picture: Michael Gillen.
Alex Totten has been close to McAllister ever since signing him from Camelon in the 1980s. Picture: Michael Gillen.

When Alex Totten was moving upstairs to become Falkirk’s director of football he backed his assistant Kevin McAllister ‘a gem of a player and a wonderful person’ for the role as Bairns manager.

McAllister was Totten’s right-hand man at the time but beaten to the post by Ian McCall. The rest is history with a league win and famous Scottish Cup victory over over Hearts plus the introduction of Collin Samuel propelling McCall’s managerial prowess.

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But speaking to Falkirk fans’ podcast ‘Walking Down Hope Street’ Totten, now a key figure in the Bairns commercial department and a sounding board for rookie management duo Lee Miller and David McCracken, says he is surprised McAllister isn’t still involved in the club one way or another.

McAllister takes on Dylan Kerr of Kilmarnock at Ibrox during the Tennents Scottish Cup final 1997.McAllister takes on Dylan Kerr of Kilmarnock at Ibrox during the Tennents Scottish Cup final 1997.
McAllister takes on Dylan Kerr of Kilmarnock at Ibrox during the Tennents Scottish Cup final 1997.

He told hosts Lewis Hoggan and Colin McFarlane: “I thought Kevin McAllister should have replaced me in the dug-out. He was my assistant and a great Falkirk fan, a great player and has a great knowledge of the game.

“I still feel that, in my own opinion, Kevin should be involved at Falkirk in some capacity yet. But all the managers who have come to Falkirk haven’t taken him on for one reason or another.

“He was a terrific player, wonderful player and a gem of a guy.

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“But I knew it wasn’t going to be my choice and I told him that. Kevin went for an interview with John Hughes, Brian Fairley and Ian McCall got the Falkirk job.

McAllister has a supporters club named in his honour at the Roman Bar. Picture: Michael Gillen.McAllister has a supporters club named in his honour at the Roman Bar. Picture: Michael Gillen.
McAllister has a supporters club named in his honour at the Roman Bar. Picture: Michael Gillen.

“That was the board’s decision and I was disappointed for him because I still feel he should be here in some capacity because he’s well loved as a player and we’ll need to wait and see in the future what happens.”

It was Totten who signed McAllister from Camelon Juniors during his first spell as Bairns boss in the early 1980s and they worked together again during the boss’ second stint in the late 1990s.

Totten added: “He was the gem I signed. I got him from Camelon, and we had a friendly against Leeds United and Kevin was up against Frankie Gray. He destroyed him. Eddie Gray who was Leeds’ manager had a cup of tea with me after the game and said ‘if that had been me I’d have put him up in the air.’

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“I said: ‘No you wouldn’t you’d never have caught him!’ He was a wonderful player.

“The best player I played with was Alan Gilzean at Dundee. The best I coached was Davie Cooper at Rangers, but the best I ever signed was Kevin McAllister.

“A gem as a player, an entertainer, he made goals and scored them. He was wonderful. A wonderful player, a wonderful kid, a wonderful person. He’s the one player I would mention because he deserves it and the fans agree because they named him player of the millennium.”

To hear more from Totten and other guests including Tom Taiwo, Ivo den Bieman and David Weir visit the podcast Facebook or Twitter page or listen in on iTunes, Spotify or Buzzsprout.