GREENOCK-born football great John McMaster will lift the lid on his former Aberdeen boss Sir Alex Ferguson at an event in town tomorrow night.

John, who also played for Morton in the latter stages of his career, was part of the iconic Dons team that won a whole host of silverware in the 1980s under Ferguson.

His spell at Pittodrie included lifting the European Cup Winners’ Cup after beating Real Madrid in Gothenburg in ‘83.

He made more than 300 appearances for club and was close to the gaffer, famed for his tough-talking inspiration of players.

John, who was brought up in Gibshill and still lives in Greenock, has teamed up with company Route to Employment for the ‘Leadership Qualities of Sir Alex Ferguson’ event in the Tontine Hotel tomorrow night.

He says it will give audiences an insight into another side of Sir Alex.

John said: “There’s never going to be another Fergie.

“Scotland has been fortunate with managers like Sir Alex, Jock Stein and Bill Shankly, which is phenomenal.

“We didn’t think anyone would emulate Jock Stein but Fergie went and did it.

“He’s a winner and that’s it.”

The masterclass event has been successfully staged elsewhere but John, currently a scout for Swansea City, was keen to put something on in his hometown.

He said: “There’s been a really good response and we’ve got a local sponsor in Blairs Windows which is important to us because we’re all local boys.”

Neil Martin, from Route to Employment, says the event will be entertaining but also educational and it even has the backing of Fergie himself.

He said: “Sir Alex knows that John is doing this seminar and he told him to go out and tell the truth.

“There are no exposes or anything like that, but there are some entertaining stories that he himself probably won’t remember.

“This isn’t just John looking at Sir Alex Ferguson as an observer, he’s played under and been successful under one of the world’s most recognised names.

“What you’ll be seeing is someone who can comment on Sir Alex Ferguson from his own side, and we can’t think of a more successful sportsman in Greenock than John.

“If you look at the calibre of medals and the number of medals he’s won, there’s very few people who have two European winners’ medals.

“And that’s a message that’s important, we’ve got someone in the town who has been successful at a world-class level.”
Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start and the event will run until 9pm.

Tickets cost £10 and this includes tea and biscuits on arrival.
For more information call 07958 450467 or email theteam@routetoemployment.com