WHAT was once a playground for Scotland’s most prosperous tactical minds now poses as a graveyard for those who have fallen foul to the so-called richest league in the world, with only one ambassador north of the border left to fly the saltire on his own.

For Scots in the Barclays Premier League, it has historically been a home for home. The success of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United was undoubtedly the biggest example of Celtic credentials in all their magnificent glory. Thirteen league titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League trophies are just a few of the accolades collected over a spell spanning 1,498 games that will surely never been replicated.

Of course, the Scottish influence in the English top flight flows much deeper than one man. Indeed, as recently as 2011, seven out of the division’s 20 managers came from north of the border, namely Ferguson, Paul Lambert (Norwich City], Alex McLeish (Aston Villa), David Moyes (Everton), Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool), Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers) and Owen Coyle (Bolton Wanderers). Four years on and not one of them is still standing in the Premier League as former Hamilton Academical manager Alex Neill is the only representative for his work at Norwich.

“In life things happen in cycles,” explained George Graham, the man that took charge of Arsenal for a nine-year spell in the eighties and nineties. “For a long period we had a lot of outstanding Scottish managers in England. People used to ask me why that was the case. I didn’t have the answer. What I did say was that majority came from working class backgrounds. But there are working class areas in England such as the North East and Yorkshire. But they weren’t coming up with outstanding managers. But I don’t have the answer to it.

“I was hungry to succeed. I worked for Terry Venables for about six years – three years at Crystal Palace and three years at Queens Park Rangers. I worked with the kids and my contract never changed because youth team managers didn’t get paid that much. So, I worked without a rise. I was hungry to get up the ladder and got the Millwall job. It took off from there and got the Arsenal job.

“I look at Alex Neil on the telly and I can see something in him. I can see similarities from other Scottish managers. I can see that determination.”

Some have pointed to wealthy owners being lured in by the profile and attractiveness of foreigners who are more prepared to embrace the life of a ‘head coach’ as the reason for a downturn in not only Scottish but British managers rising to the top, while others claim the calibre of coach from other leagues offers a different insight into the game that can’t be found on home soil.

Graham, however, has pointed the finger at a vast array of alternatives now on offer to players seeking out a life after the full-time whistle.

“Players can now go on the television and earn fortunes for just talking about the game. There is no pressure to get results,” said the 70-year-old from Bargeddie, who was inducted into the Scottish Hall of Fame on Sunday night.

“That’s one of the things that disappoints me. With the exception of Gary Neville, who is Roy Hodgson’s assistant with England, there are a lot of big names on television and I think that’s such a waste. They could be putting something back but instead they’re picking up the TV money because there’s no pressure on them; they’re just talking and giving an opinion.

“Look at the foreign stars. For me, Dennis Bergkamp should have stayed at Arsenal in a coaching capacity but he went back to Ajax and ran the youth team and now he’s the No.2 there. Then you have Patrick Vieira, another ex-Arsenal great who’s doing an excellent job for Manchester City and looks as though he could be a future manager at the highest level.

“I see them and I think: ‘They’re wealthy but they’re still going back and doing their coaching badges’ and they can see their future in the game.”

So, will wee see the likes of a Scotsman roaring on from the home dugout at the likes of Old Trafford again?

“Why not? I don’t think you can narrow it down to nationalities or people from poor backgrounds – otherwise South America would be providing plenty more,” said Graham.

“Sir Alex went to United at roughly the same time as I went to Arsenal. I won the League Cup in my first season and he took five years to win his first trophy – but he was given that five years. During that time he built the foundations of the club with his youth policy and went on to prove that he’s one of the best there has ever been.”