One look around the old stadium, changed little since he started out as a raw 16-year-old back in 1988, and it was a case of, where do I sign? When the plans were rolled out across the table by ambitious Scunthorpe chairman Peter Swann for a new £25million, 12,000-seat multi-use arena on a 60-acre site just down the motorway, the job became a touch harder.
Yet seven months down the line, Alexander is well on course to keeping his side of the bargain. The plans for the new ground a mile down the motorway remain just that at the moment with the start date pushed back after the problems with land acquisition to at least 2018-19.
In contrast, Alexander’s team, one he inherited languishing mid-table with nine games to go last season, sit proudly on top of League One – a draw with Northampton Town on Saturday stretching a run of seven matches unbeaten.
Alexander, who first walked into Glanford Park fresh from school in Coventry, for his first time away from home, spent six happy years as an Iron.
“It was all brand new then, just been built,” he said. “There was loads of excitement around the club at that time. But you look around it hasn’t changed that much – there have been slight improvements – a few coats of paint maybe.
“There are familiar faces who have changed and grown up with the club as their lives as well. Coming back was never a difficult decision for me, it just seemed a great fit. The chairman’s ambitions made it all the more attractive.”
Alexander moved to Luton then Preston, where he spent eight years and the bulk of his career under David Moyes, then Burnley where he had a season in the top flight. He also had 40 caps for Scotland.
He has brought that no-nonsense professionalism instilled in 22 years of playing into management with impressive results at Fleetwood where he took them up from League Two inside 17 months and now at Scunthorpe.
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“The chairman said to me from the start that he wanted a team that looks as good as the new stadium will do and to play at a level that will do it justice,” he said.
“He wants to break the norm of Scunthorpe really and move from a team that is flirting with the Championship now and then [they were last in the second tier in 2011] before coming back down to a team who can establish themselves at that sort of level.
“The plans about the stadium are for the business side of the club. I have responsibility for the __football side of things and so far it has gone OK. The boys have worked really hard and attacked every game but there is a long way to go.”
One of the first things Alexander did when he returned to a club where he has worked in the club shop, ticket office and “cleaned every inch of the place” as an apprentice was to reintroduce a connection between youngsters and the first team.
“Taking the first team pro’s boots and position for position is an important thing and something that seems to have slipped from the game. It’s vital to keep that connection – it’s not them and us.
“I learnt so much from the older pros each week but you don’t seem to get that any more. I believe you have to keep your principals and what made you grow up as a man and a player.”
Scunthorpe are clearly learning plenty from a man who never forgot his roots but one who is ready to take them to the next level in more ways than one.