Scot Gemmill insists Walter Smith had the management X Factor just like his first boss - the legendary Brian Clough.
Gemmill was brought through the ranks at Nottingham Forest by Clough, spending a total of 12 years at the City Ground before Smith signed him for Everton in a £250,000 deal in 1999.
And the former midfielder reckons both men had the magic formula which meant their players were desperate to play for them.
Scotland Under-21 boss Gemmill will forever be grateful to Smith for being “brave” enough to sign him for the Toffees where he would make over 100 appearances in five years.
Ahead of Friday's public memorial for the ex- Rangers and Scotland boss, who lost his battle with cancer last month, Gemmill said: “Walter gave me the opportunity and the experience. He was brave enough to sign me for a club of that stature and I will always be grateful for that.
“A lot of people ask me what Brian Clough’s X-Factor was. And I think Walter Smith had a similar X-Factor because his players wanted to play for him.
“That’s the biggest thing a manager can be given and needs if he’s to get to a point to do well. Brian Clough’s players wanted to play for him and that was his X Factor.
“He created an environment where his players wanted to play for him and I think Walter did that too and I think that’s the biggest compliment I can give him.”
Tributes flooded in from across the football world for Smith following his death on October 26.
And Gemmill said: “I think the tributes have been incredible and I fully agree with them. I have enjoyed reading them because how highly I regarded him.
“When you read them, that really communicated how highly he was regarded and how successful and influential he was.
“It’s been brilliant to read the tributes to him. He was a great man and a great manager.”
