St Johnstone didn’t stand in Callum Davidson’s way when a big English club came calling over two decades ago.
And the McDiarmid Park boss believes it wouldn’t have been right if they had put up roadblocks with this generation’s young stars, Ali McCann and Jason Kerr.
Blackburn Rovers signed a 21-year-old Davidson for £1.75 million back in 1998 and McCann and Kerr have followed his Perth to Lancashire career route by joining Preston North End and Wigan Athletic respectively.
The fact that it took until deadline day for the buying clubs to make their move was far from ideal for the Saints manager.
But allowing both transfers to go ahead was still the right thing to do.
“Both boys wanted to go,” said Davidson. “These were life-changing moves.
“People will say that we could have held on to Ali (who had two years left on his contract compared to Kerr’s one) for another window but you can’t choose when an opportunity comes along.
“It was similar to my own career when Blackburn came in.
“I obviously spoke to Ali and he was desperate to go.
“Both players absolutely loved it at St Johnstone and that did make it hard for them to leave.
“But they knew that football-wise these were great moves for both of them.”
He added: “We wouldn’t turn down bid after bid because this is part of their development. I want Jason to go on to play for Scotland and for Ali to have a brilliant career.
“The timing was unfortunate because we didn’t really have any contact from the clubs until the last day of the window.
“With Ali’s one, I was just about to go home. I thought it wasn’t going to happen – that was late into the night.
“I didn’t think I’d lose him all window or even that last night.”
Same hymn sheet
It will be reassuring for Saints fans that Davidson and his chairman, Steve Brown, were on the same page.
“Ultimately decisions like this do lie with the money men,” said the manager.
“We’ve had the Covid situation for 18 months. It’s about doing what’s right for the club and the players.
“Football-wise, this was right for both lads.
“It’s not as if we’ve been bullied but it’s a classic case of a bigger club coming in with a big bid right at the end of the window.
“You see it happening elsewhere.
“The offer was a good one, when you take into account the sell-on and everything else.
“But obviously, as a manager, it doesn’t give me much time.
Can’t wait to get going 🤝⚽️ https://t.co/Ltjulc1Wio
— Cami Macpherson (@macpherson4_) September 1, 2021
“What I would say is, I would still have gone for Cammy MacPherson (the midfielder signed from St Mirren on loan for the season) even if this had happened a couple of weeks ago.
“I believe he’s a top young player. I’ve been keeping an eye on him for a while.
“I could have done other things as well, though.
“You speak to other managers and they’ll tell you it’s their worst nightmare when a big club comes in for one of your players like that.
“It’s something I’ve learned now.
“This is probably the first time it’s happened to us – having a problematic last day before the deadline.”
There was fan fury at the fee of £1.2 million up front for McCann but Davidson insisted that the clauses in the deal for future revenue was key, as it was with Wigan, to agreement being reached.
“The deals wouldn’t have gone through if it hadn’t been for the sell-ons,” he pointed out.
“They’re massive for the club.
“I believe that both boys will go on to bigger and better things.”
