Managerial Career
After he retired from playing, Ormond became assistant trainer at Falkirk. In 1967, he was appointed as manager of St. Johnstone. He led the club to the 1969 League Cup final and third in the League one year, ahead of Rangers. This league finish meant that Saints qualified for European competition for the first time, a major achievement for a Scottish club outside the major cities. Ormond's contribution to the club was recognised by the club naming the South Stand at McDiarmid Park in his honour.
When the Scottish Football Association wanted someone capable of bringing stability to the job of Scotland manager after Tommy Docherty left, Ormond was a natural choice and he was appointed in 1973. He was blessed with a talented squad and steered them to the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. Although Scotland didn't lose any of their games and came back as the only unbeaten team in the tournament, they were eliminated after the first round. This was actually the best ever performance by a Scotland team in a World Cup.
Later, minor breaches of player discipline accumulated and after four years the SFA came to believe it wanted a more forceful and charismatic figure as manager. In May 1977 he resigned and was appointed as manager of Hearts - the arch rivals of his old team, Hibs. Many Hearts fans at the time were less than happy given Ormond's background but he soon won them over before being sacked in 1980, whereupon he moved to Hibernian as assistant to his old Famous Five colleague Eddie Turnbull. When Turnbull resigned, Ormond took over but his health was not good and forced him to retire soon after.
Read more about this topic: Willie Ormond
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