Football is on everyone’s television set and just about every viewer, male and female, would have kicked a ball at some point as a child because the sport is part of our heritage and upbringing.

They also tend to love the experience of live games and this is why it is the biggest sport in our country.

Golf on the other hand, certainly when I was a youngster, was looked upon as only something for the elite, or ‘the posh lads’ as we would have called them.

But it does pop up more and more on television now and every two years we have the Ryder Cup, and the viewing figures are enormous.

Normally golf is a game of individuals trying to beat everyone else’s score and it is only every now and again that they play as a team.

Last week’s Ryder Cup saw Europe win again, of course. It was their eighth win out of the last ten, and anybody connected with sport would wonder why this could be.

America is still the biggest participant in the game, still produces high class professionals, with the likes of Tiger Woods leading the way, but they can’t pull it together in a team format.

There is a really interesting comparison for me between playing a game as an individual as opposed to being part of a team.

This can sometimes happen in football, where 11 players are on the pitch but are not necessarily welded together.

They will have one or two players who possibly think they are better than the others, who are sometimes playing for themselves rather than the team and the manager. On occasions these sides will be beaten by 11 players who are not better as individuals, but certainly are as a team.

Saints’ FA Cup final win over Manchester United in 1976 is a perfect example of this.

On the morning of the game our striker, Mick Channon, famously rang my room to tell me the bookmakers had us at 5/1 as opposed to Manchester United, our opposition, being odds on. They were in the top flight, we were in the second tier at that time.

On the day, even though we had some outstanding individuals, we played as a team.

I suppose one of the advantages then was in total only 15 players made an appearance.

Gerry O’Brien had a couple of appearances as a substitute before he left the club while of the other 14, two or three only appeared occasionally.

But the fact there was such a small group meant they stuck together and eventually came out on top.

The sensational outcome of this latest defeat of the Americans was that the traditional press conference afterwards got one of their star players, Phil Mickelson, talking to the assembled media in front of the management team, headed by the legendary Tom Watson.

He criticised the build-up to the bi-annual occasion, compared it to the last time they had been successful in 2008 and openly criticised Tom Watson, his staff and the preparation. The effect was absolutely stunning.

Paul McGinley, the European captain, did what Ronald Koeman is doing at present – quietly doing his homework, welding a team together and has got good results immediately.

As a manager what do I think of all of this?

Looking back I think in our cup final days the difference was that we played as a unit for months and months in the build-up to our big day, whereas the golfers are playing against each other up until a week or two before.

Did I do anything wrong?

Of course, like most managers looking back I would do some things differently.

I, for instance, regret to this day not including a 16th player in the squad, Steve Middleton, the goalkeeper. In those days we had one substitute – looking back, how ridiculous we weren’t allowed one plus a goalkeeper because if your keeper did get injured your outfield player came on and another had to go in goal.

That was one reason Steve wasn’t included, but also in the build-up to the final, when hotels and staying away are counted, finance came into it.

But even so, that was something I would have done differently.

When Tom Watson looks back, like any losing manager in a big occasion, I am sure he will think about what he could have done differently.

It appears a lot of what Mickelson said was right, but what was wrong, whether he likes it or not, was the timing of his announcement.

There are rules in any professional sport that some things should stay in the dressing room, and that speech he made was certainly one of them. The team spirit was low because of the defeat, but will be destroyed with his few minutes in the spotlight.

I don’t know if they all went back on the same aeroplane but I imagine the atmosphere was horrendous. People like Mickelson probably have their own plane and shot off.

It certainly didn’t help a legend like Tom Watson, who is revered throughout sport and should be remembered for all of the great wins he has had, rather than Mickelson pointing out the problems at Gleneagles.