This week, I’m concentrating on the most successful spell of my time at Leicester City; the club’s golden era under Martin O’Neill. As there’s so much to talk about, I’ve decided to break this into two blogs, with one today and another next Friday.

Without question, Martin was the best manager I ever played under and the statistics and achievements during his five year reign at Filbert Street tell you everything you need to know.

He just had this different way of doing things and dealing with people. I’d never met anybody like him in football before, but his approach just got results.

When he first came in he made a real effort with me and asked for my views on the existing players in the squad, grilling me on what the lads were like. He knew I was one of the bigger characters and that the other lads looked up to me, so he made sure he got me onside early doors and that was a great move.

Other managers saw my standing at the club as a threat, but not Martin, he was clever and was convinced that we could work well together. He kind of used me as his spokesman to the players as well as encouraging me to offer my views. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but we always respected each other and we both knew we had to have that kind of relationship.

I didn’t have any idea how good he was going to be when he came in and I still wasn’t sure after that slow start, but even then you knew he was the type of manager you wanted to play for, wanted to work for and impress.

It was a bit of a struggle at first and we lost a lot of games and dropped a lot of points early on under Martin. The supporters weren’t happy and he was under a fair bit of pressure with fans calling for his head and also writing letters to him and the club protesting at his appointment and asking him to leave. He had a big job on his hands to turn things around and although Mark McGhee had left him some good players, Martin still had to craft them into a team that could play the way he wanted.

Once that first win came, a 3-2 victory away at Wolves, we went on an unbelievable run, culminating in that famous Play-Off final win against Crystal Palace at Wembley in 1996. After that game, I remember Martin took the time out to phone and write letters to all the people that had given him stick earlier on the season. That criticism had obviously hurt him, but it also helped drive him on to success.

The managerial and coaching team of O’Neill, Steve Walford and John Robertson complimented each other perfectly, even though I still don’t really know exactly what Robertson did! I just remember him sat in the laundry room, doing a crossword and having a cup of tea with Sheila the laundry lady and chain-smoking about 40 a day! In all seriousness, he was the classic Assistant Manager and got on great with the lads and, just like Martin, he could spot a player and their potential to fit into our team.

The three of them had a great understanding and trusted each other completely, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and that’s why they’ve stayed together so long at Celtic and now at Aston Villa.

We used to really enjoy the training sessions with Steve Walford and although Martin didn’t always have a hands on role during training you could feel his presence and influence in and around the training ground. I used to love playing the 5-a-sides on Friday afternoon. It was young players versus older players and, although it was a training match and we all had a bit of banter about it, everybody was desperate to win and nobody held back going into challenges. That sort of intensity was good preparation for the matches and nearly every week it was the old boys that triumphed. The whipper snappers just couldn’t live with us!

Martin made some great signings during his time at Leicester, bringing in bargains from the lower leagues and transforming them into £5m plus rated Premier League performers. The likes of Lennon, Izzet, Elliott and Savage were all fantastic buys and great characters and he always seemed to bring in lads who fitted into the existing team spirit well.

He was great at getting the best out of troubled players like Stan Collymore and knew exactly when to put an arm around certain lads that needed it, and also when to give someone a bollocking. You have to give him credit for bringing Emile Heskey on as well. He wasn’t afraid to throw Bruno into the big games even though he was so young. That faith in Emile’s ability and the run he gave him in the team led to an £11m bid from Liverpool, which was a great bit of business for the club.

Martin left the club in an excellent position financially and as an established Premier League outfit. The Walkers stadium was built on the back of what he achieved, but his legacy at Leicester City was about more than that, it was about delivering Premier League and European football and two major trophies. He made people respect City and view them as a top club again and that was a massive achievement.

He was just this bundle of energy on the sidelines ready to erupt when the ball hit the net, a chance was missed or the referee was having a nightmare, and seeing his passion used to inspire the players too. He was an intense presence and you could always see his brain ticking over. He was a very deep thinker, but also had a really dry sense of humour.

Martin knew how to use psychology to get the best out of players and he had some strange methods, but they worked. He was a genius really and I know he didn’t really like the comparisons with his former manager at Nottingham Forest, the legendary Brian Clough, but certain parts of Cloughie’s character and managerial technique certainly rubbed of on O’Neill. He would get inside people’s heads and make you play well. He was the sort of character you wanted to do well for anyway, but he still managed to get even more from you on the pitch.

It was such a shame when the time came for Martin to leave, but he’d shown great loyalty to Leicester City over the years as plenty of other clubs, like Leeds United, had shown an interest and tried to tempt him away.

Martin is the sort of character that wants to be in control of the whole club and he felt he’d lost some of that control towards the end with Leicester, due to the interference of the board. You could understand when he chose to leave for Celtic when the chance came. They’re a massive club and they obviously meant a lot him. The move only enhanced his reputation and allowed him to develop as a manager.

Not long after he took the job, Martin invited me Muzzy and Steve Guppy up to Glasgow to watch Celtic play Kilmarnock. They won 1-0 after a disappointing performance but Martin was still happy to see us after the game. We sat in his office until eight or nine in the evening drinking and chatting about football. He kept on sending this little old guy that worked for the club out to get more wine and beer and we had a great night.

Martin also took me into the home dressing room and sat me down and gave me a bit of advice as I was having a few problems in my personal life. He was good like that and you could tell he genuinely cared about the people he worked with. He created a fantastic family atmosphere at the club and looked after everybody behind the scenes and I know he still stays in touch with a lot of the staff.

I still see Martin from time to time and he’s always happy to sign memorabilia for me and takes an interest in what I’m up to and what the other lads, like Muzzy and Matt Elliott are doing. I bumped into him and his wife Geraldine in the Tea Rooms on Allandale Road last year and she was on the mend after her illness which was great to see.

Martin has gone on to have an impressive career at Celtic and Aston Villa and I think he’s got another big job in him before he calls it a day. He’s very ambitious and if someone like Manchester United came along, he’d be well up for the challenge. Having said that, knowing Martin he will still feel as though he’s not completed the job at Villa. If he can keep that young side together in the next few seasons he can definitely take the club to the next level.

Next week sees part two of my recollections of O’Neill and then the week after that, following the sublime, I’m afraid we’re heading for the ridiculous as I cover Peter Taylor’s disastrous reign at the club.

Steve Walsh Blog in association with:

For Steve’s views on other Leicester City managers follow the links below…

Bryan Hamilton

David Pleat

Brian Little

Mark McGhee