Former Newcastle assistant manager Terry McDermott is backing the Birmingham boss to get through the hard times at St Andrew’s and become a top Premier League boss – and he should know what it takes.Clark’s current number two has seen it all during a distinguished playing and coaching career.
A Liverpool legend, he was one of the finest players to grace the Anfield turf. He worked under Bob Paisley at Liverpool, winning six titles, three European Cups, the UEFA Cup and three League Cups.
He moved into coaching in 1992, assisting Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United, another club he served with distinction on the pitch.
And in total he was part of the coaching set-up for five Toon managers – Keegan (twice), Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder and Sam Allardyce.
Terry McDermott: “Lee’s a very, very hard worker. He always has been. He was like that at Huddersfield.
“If there’s a game on, he always wants to go and watch it.
“He’s always wanting to learn.
“He will go on and become a top, top manager. I honestly believe that.
“He’s very meticulous in what he does. He doesn’t leave any stone unturned. He’s always looking for a little chink in team’s armour when he is watching videos that we can maybe exploit.
“He goes to all kinds of games, he’s in the training ground at 7.30am.
“He just want to be a top manager and he’s got a very, very good chance of being one.
“It’s difficult sometimes. The manager wears his heart on his sleeve and when I see him upset it upsets me. I hate seeing him like that.
“That’s how badly he wants to be a winner and it will probably get him to becoming a top manager because he is so driven, so determined."