Jim Gannon in SPL manager blast

MOTHERWELL boss Jim Gannon claims that most managers are either too selfish or too strapped for time to put in the hours on the training ground needed to make up for the skills shortage affecting Scottish youngsters.

The 41-year-old argues that our kids are lagging behind because coaches prefer brawn to brain when it comes to signing kids - and he warns that we'll never catch up with the likes of Barcelona's Xavi and Iniesta unless SPL bosses are prepared to put in the overtime.

He's attempting to do that with his Fir Park rookies and, with Scottish clubs humiliated by their Continental counterparts in the last two seasons, Gannon, right, claims that his peers need to look at the bigger picture.

He said: "There aren't many managers who want to produce the next Zico or the next Ronaldo - all they're concerned about is their team's performances and results and when you have that culture it comes at a cost to the skill factor.

"A lot of managers won't spend - or won't have the time to spend - any effort in attempting to improve basic techniques but I always try to include an element of that in our training sessions.

"For example, you might want to work on hitting long-range passes, which is a technique in itself.

"I tend to find that the simpler the tactics, the more difficult the techniques involved. If you're playing the long-ball game then you need players who can pass accurately and you'll also need players who can jump and take a 60-yard pass in the air.

"Whereas if you have complicated tactics then all you need is simple passes. All I want my players to do is knock the ball 15-20 yards at a time.

"When I first turned pro I worked under Dave Bassett (right) and by the time I finished my adventure I was playing for Dario Gradi, who had a different approach. Both had been very successful but players prefer to play for a manager who encourages them to express themselves.

"I was very raw when I started out in the professional game but I improved technically through time.

"There's a fallacy in football that you can't improve certain aspects of players. Even speed - everyone says that you can't make players faster but that's not true.

"You only need to look at Allan Wells winning the sprint gold medals at the Moscow Olympics or Linford Christie winning gold in Barcelona. They were both in their thirties and that's proof that you can improve every year."

After putting his principles into practice at Dundalk and Stockport County Gannon is convinced that he can make a difference - but he warns that youth development needs to be revolutionised.

He added: "I believe there isn't enough focus on the technical aspect of the game in Britain, where the emphasis is on the physical and mental strength of players.

"Athleticism has become the dominant factor and that alone is often enough to shut down the more technical players during a match.

"Even in the Premier League you can see that stature and speed are the primary assets, although every team will have its technical players as well.

"To see the game at its best, though, you want every one of your players to be comfortable on the ball and to understand the effectiveness of pure football, of playing out from the back.

"That's why the most pleasing thing about last year's European Championships was that the best footballing side won the tournament.

"If you look at the statistics, then Spain outpassed every single team they played. They would have more sideways and backward passes than other teams would have forward passes.

"That's because the Spanish understand the value of combination play and moving the ball across the pitch and circulating the ball in an attempt to attack from different angles.

"The Spanish national team is the best role model for the way the game should be played."

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