Birmingham City v Bristol City

unbelievable, he was the best professional I ever worked
with, he guided me.”
“To score the winner on my debut sort of eased me in.
Then your first home game you hear the crowd, you see
the Stadium and you think this ain’t bad! I was confident
and in quite good form so that helped.”
Skip would make more than 200 appearances in all
competitions for Blues, memorably captaining the side
at the 2001 Worthington Cup Final against Liverpool.
Despite the heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat, the
56-year-old speaks with great fondness about the team’s
cup endeavours, but not before discussing his nickname
and how his rich association with the Club developed.
“You get engrained in the tradition at Birmingham City.
You understand that if you give everything to the Club
and show that you care then you will be loved. I wasn’t the
most technically gifted or anything like that, but I worked
hard and had a big mouth probably.
“Luckily, or unluckily, I have been made captain at all
my clubs. That isn’t because I was a good leader, but
because I wanted to win. I would do everything to win. If I
was doing my job, then I could always have a pop at other
players. I don’t know if it was leadership qualities, but I
had a will to win.
“The ‘Skip’ thing was when we were away at Barnsley.
Gary Ablett was injured, and Trevor called me into his
hotel room and said he was going to make me captain.
To be made captain at Birmingham City at that time, and
I knew all the history, looking back it is probably one of
the highlights of my career.
“We had individuals who could win a game or save you
a game. We had a dressing room which was probably
the best I have been involved in. We were competitive,
humble, and we could play. You go to Tottenham Hotspur
and beat them and play really well, we beat Sheffield
Wednesday at home and Ipswich Town – who were
Premier League at the time – home and away. To take
Liverpool with all their stars and history to penalties, we
must have been decent.
“I hate talking about the final and arguably with a
stronger referee, we could have won the cup. We
underestimated ourselves which was probably a
strength. We drove ourselves on to be competitive in
every game.”
Next month, O’Connor will celebrate his two-year
anniversary of being Blues’ Loan Manager, having
returned 20 years on from his departure as a player back
to Walsall in 2002.
His role, a vital one when it comes to player
development, makes him a conduit between both the
Men’s First Team and Under-21s players and fills him with
immense pride.
“Being asked back to the Club is fantastic, but the role
itself is important in my opinion. We have players who
need to go out on loan to experience the real world of
football and I go to see them in matches and in training.
I keep in contact with them and remind them that it is
sometimes not about getting players out to forget about
them but for them to get experience and reporting back
to the Club as to where they are and where I see them.
“We have tended to let players go out on loan and
not care about them until they come back. I look after
seniors and younger pros. I see it as an integral part of a
footballer’s development and career pathway.
“I have taken advice from the loan managers at
Chelsea, Eddie Newton, and Wolves, Matt Jackson – a
former Blues teammate of mine. Craig Gardner has
helped me massively with the picture of what the Club is
looking for when players go out on loan.”
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