Stan Collymore: Martin O’Neill was 'the biggest influence in my 14-year career'

Stan Collymore was 28 and already had half a dozen senior clubs behind him when he played under Martin O’Neill at Leicester City but, even though they only had six months together, the former Liverpool, Aston Villa and England striker has no hesitation in hailing Ireland’s manager as the “biggest influence” in his career.

For Collymore, O’Neill is the kind of inspirational gaffer who can get the best out of players because, having been one himself, the Derry man understands what makes them tick.

“He would have played for a man in Brian Clough who tried to imbue in his players what he wanted them to do,” Collymore said yesterday. “Clough stamped his authority on the Nottingham Forest team in every way: he was insistent his players didn’t get yellow cards, that they shouldn’t shout at the ref and he wanted them to play with the ball on the deck. Martin is more of a pragmatist. At Leicester it was 4-4-2, we worked very hard and worked the percentages beyond that. And if we stayed disciplined, we’d get something.