Nottingham Forest boss Martin O’Neill’s management style has been praised by former Celtic and Sweden ace Johan Mjallby.
But the defender admits the Northern Irishman was never short of a cutting put-down to bring him back down to earth when he got too “cocky”.
Mjallby was a key figure under O’Neill during his time in charge of the Hoops - a period which saw the Scottish giants clinch a domestic treble and finish runners-up in the UEFA Cup.
It saw Mjallby, now 48, also become a regular for his country, and he admits he let it all go to his head a little bit.
But O’Neill was on hand to keep his feet on the ground, with a quip which has echoes of Reds legend Brian Clough.
Commenting on O’Neill, Mjallby told Open Goal: “He was really easy and simple to work with, in that he told you exactly what he expected from you.
“For me, the quote he always told me after I got a wee (bit) cocky as a regular for Sweden was, ‘Johan, don’t you EVER dribble with the ball, as soon as you get it, give it to the better players. But defend your own penalty box with your own life’.”
Mjallby spent six years at Celtic, after signing from Swedish side AIK in 1998.
O’Neill was at the helm for a big chunk of that time as he occupied the Celtic Park hotseat from 2000 to 2005.
