“The first course I went on, I came back and I thought I was Capello. You could have landed an aircraft on the pitch that I coned out.”
“You’re staying in a third world accommodation. Doing a week in Mountjoy would be more luxurious.”
“Someone I can bounce off in the room is big Chris Sutton. He’e brilliant. We gradually got to know each other, then intellectually got to know each other. All the lads sit and talk about tactics – me and Chris talk about politics.”
“He (Roddy) is big in stature, big in personality. But more importantly he’s got substance. He’s certainly a person on this course that I admire.”
“I was educated by the Christian Brothers. I don’t know where they got the word ‘Christian’ to put on the end of ‘Christian Brothers’. I didn’t see much Christianity because we got bashed everyday.”
“We’re going to play a system in the middle of the park where we’re going to go Jordi, Keith, eh… Jordi, Keith… Michael, right. And who do have I got in beside him? Jordi, Keith, Michael… Hands up midfield players. You’re a fuckin’ striker, you keep your hand down. Willo… how could I forget you?! That’s why I get the assistant to name the team every week, right!”
“That manager, he annoyed me. Does he think it’s Real Madrid? It’s not Real Madrid, it’s Shamrock Rovers. And it makes me laugh. Because this is coming from a manager who is managing possibly 15 years and has won one league title to his name. One league title. Get real.”
“There’s a perception out there – Roddy Collins the man about town, the groover and the shaker. That’s not me. I only socialise with my wife, I only go out with my kids. We go fishing, we go to the park. You get that impression because obviously I’d be a little bit brash and wear nice Louis Copeland clothes. But that’s just a front. Behind it all I’m an absolute 100% family man.”
