The reason I became a manager was to have full control over training. If you are a coach, you are bound by what the manager wants you to coach. The other reason is that I just like the company of football people.

He formed an unlikely midfield partnership with hard-man Vinnie Jones and led the club to the Second Division title in 1989–90. He fell out of the first team picture under Andy Roxburgh and was left out of the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In 2007 Strachan was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

He has managed Coventry City Southampton Celtic and Middlesbrough. In international football Strachan earned 50 caps scoring five goals and playing in two FIFA World Cup final tournaments Spain 82 and Mexico 86. In 2007 Strachan was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.