THERE was a quote in one of the Sunday papers which said that, according to sports psychologists, the first law of team dynamics is that the unit takes on the personality of its leader'.

The question was asked of me whether I thought there was any truth in the statement.

If there is, then teams that I manage would be hard-working, disciplined, honest and play within the laws of the game.

Whether the style of play has any connection with the personality of the manager is more open to debate.

A more relevant issue would be the progress made, and the changes which have taken place, over the last 12 to 15 years.

There was a time when any sensible manager had his team playing in accordance with the conditions prevailing. By Christmas, pitches were always quagmires. It took a great deal of physical strength to move the ball about and it was not always possible to pass the ball with accuracy over even short distances.

Near the end of the season, towards Easter, when the quagmires dried out and the grounds were baked, they were even more difficult to play on.

I recall coming to Edgar Street scouting for Derby County when I was in between managerial positions - it was not long before the end of a season and there was hardly a blade of grass on a large area of the pitch.

Fifteen or 20 years ago, the game was much more brutal. Full-backs were judged on how far they could chip their winger, the use of elbows was prevalent and, in general, referees took a much more lenient view of tackling.

There was always the thought that a defender would get a heavy one' in on his opponent in the early stages as that would reduce his effectiveness and was unlikely to be punished with a booking.

The introduction of foreign players and coaches has helped to improve the game technically even down to the lower leagues and the Conference.

The downside is that there is more diving and a certain amount of petulance and play-acting has crept in, and not only on the pitch.

It is a shame to see some highly-respected foreign managers are prone to a little petulance.

The with-holding of the sporting handshake at the end of the game is bad to see.

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from boxing where two guys have knocked hell out of each other, occasionally in a dirty fight and sometimes with a questionable use of the head. But I have yet to see those involved in the battle fail to shake hands at the end of the contest.

Maybe those in the dug-out should take heed of that.