Gordon Strachan is standing outside the dining room at Southampton's training ground as his players file out to visit a local hospital. Exasperated by the scruffiness of Anders Svensson he yells after the Swedish midfielder. Finally, despairingly, the manager gives up. "I've seen better dressed wounds," he mutters.
Coventry fans may find the very thought of Strachan less than amusing, but the Scot's idiosyncratic mix of humour, enthusiasm and coaching ability seems to be having the desired effect at Southampton. "He's very much a happy chap," says Chris Marsden. "A funny man." The midfielder means witty rather than barking but there is that unpredictable, off-the-wall side to Strachan. Sitting in the Portakabin which passes as his office, the 44 year old is in no mood to discuss today's opponents, Manchester United, where he played from 1984-89 before being sold by Alex Ferguson.
Is it possible that Ferguson, deeply uncomplimentary about Strachan in his autobiography, might end his last season without a trophy? "I've no opinion about that. I've said before it's not my problem. I've not got an opinion about Manchester United." But you play them next at Old Trafford. "Doesn't matter, I've still got no opinion about them. There are plenty of people to talk about Manchester United, plenty of pundits. I'm not a pundit, I'm a manager."
Opinions about Strachan are easier to find. There was great scepticism among Southampton supporters when he replaced Stuart Gray in late October, five months after taking Coventry down. Yet, having overseen the club's first two wins at St Mary's and hauled the team out of the bottom three, optimism is growing.
The next month will truly test the strength of his revival. After today, the following six league opponents are Tottenham, Leeds, Chelsea, Liverpool twice and United again. Not that Strachan has suffered sleepless nights.
"I can't honestly tell you who we're playing," he says. "I know it's Tottenham after Manchester United and that's my lot. I found out last night we're playing Manchester United again in January because somebody phoned for tickets. He's a Man United fan so there's no chance."
Strachan will not discuss the changes he has made for fear of it reflecting badly on his predecessors. He says a big difference is better shooting from 15 to 25 yards.
Watching the manager oversee shooting practice leaves no doubt his passion is undimmed. When he says he gets a buzz out of training it is easy to believe, and he has worked the players hard. Two sessions a day are common.
"First and foremost he's made us a lot fitter," says defender Claus Lundekvam. "That's shown in the last few games and he's got us a lot braver on the ball. We pass a lot better than we have recently."
Training-wise, it's a bit similar to the way it was under Glenn Hoddle. "We go through a lot of tactical stuff, which Glenn liked to do, and we've done quite a lot on set plays."
Regular Southampton watchers say the defence and midfield have become solid units again. Strachan has enjoyed the benefit of being able to field an unchanged XI for five league games and stability is uppermost in his thinking. It says much that Lundekvam has worked under five managers in six seasons at the club.
"We have a group of players who were a bit confused when we took over," Strachan says. "We're trying to give them a bit of stability so they know, hopefully, this management team will be here a wee bit longer and they've all got a chance. Players do get worried when the manager who has bought them leaves."
Strachan has made signings, including Paul Telfer and Paul Williams from Coventry, and wants further additions. He refuses to discuss the hard times at Highfield Road - "That's dead, buried, gone" - and has shown little of his temper.
Marsden admits the manager "did blow his top" after a poor second half at Everton, but Strachan has generally been pleased with performances.
Southampton's move from the Dell looked ill-advised after one point there from the first 15. Home form has often saved them but back-to-back wins have offered hope. "In the last three or four games we've looked as if we've known our way round the pitch - how to close teams down and apply pressure in certain situations. We look as if we're the home side," Marsden says. "At the start of the season, whether we weren't playing well enough or didn't know what we were doing on the ground, we were like the away side. That's changed and the crowd feel more at home."
The atmosphere they create when Hoddle and Dean Richards return with Spurs on St Stephen's Day promises to be spicy. But there seems little point, in asking Strachan about either man.
