Tommy Wright: St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown always had my back and our success was the payback for it

Tommy Wright has thanked Steve Brown for always having his back at St Johnstone.

And the legendary former Perth boss believes the chairman’s support of his managers has been the foundation of a decade of success that will be the envy of every Premiership club in the country outside Glasgow.

Brown is stepping down from his role at Saints when this season comes to an end.

The Northern Irishman admitted his tenure at McDiarmid Park from 2013 to 2020 was far from plain sailing at times.

But Brown cherished stability in the dugout, while others opted for change.

It won’t take the passage of time for the worth of that principle to be shown.

⚽ | 4 – Tommy Wright guided @St_Johnstone_FC to a 4th place finish, securing European football again for the Saintshttps://t.co/pavZJymQSC pic.twitter.com/owtGM38e6f

— SPFL (@spfl) May 29, 2017

“Steve and I had seven years of success,” said Wright. “With plenty of bumps in the road along the way!

“But there was always a mutual respect there.

“I used to go off the deep end at times and push him to get what I wanted, but I’d always said to him that the day I stop pushing him to make St Johnstone better would be the day to get rid of me.

“My job was to ask for things – and his job was to say no!

“I could see things from his point of view in the end as well.

“What I would say is that no matter how many ups and downs we had, we always got back on the same page quickly.

“As a chairman, you knew he had your back and for any manager that’s massive.

“For me, that was the biggest thing because the way to judge a chairman is by how they deal with situations and how they protect you as a manager.

“We went on some bad runs at times but you always felt the support was there and that’s why we were able to get out of it.”

Shut out the noise

Wright, who took charge of Kilmarnock after leaving Saints, added: “The success we had was payback for the way we dealt with things in the bad times.

“Steve always protects his manager and doesn’t listen to the noise. If anything, people telling him to get rid of a manager is likely to have the opposite effect.

“If he’s got someone in the job he believes is right, then he’ll stick with it.

“That doesn’t mean it was unconditional.

“There were times he told me results needed to improve but having that backing and room to make it better was crucial.”

The contrast between St Johnstone’s achievements and the vast majority of top flight clubs in recent seasons has been stark.

“If you look at other clubs like Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Dundee and Dundee United over the last 10 years, they’ve all panicked and gone through loads of managers,” said Wright.

“You could probably add up everything they’ve all done in the last decade and it wouldn’t match St Johnstone in terms of trophies, Europe and top six finishes.

“For me, that’s down to stability and the culture of the club.

“Steve backed me to bring the age of the squad down from 31 to 23, which we did even though he knew results might take a hit at times.

“So he could see the bigger picture and knew what was right for the club.”

Safe hands for club sale

Wright has faith that Steve and owner, Geoff, will find the right buyer for St Johnstone now that it is officially up for sale.

“I wasn’t too surprised when I heard Steve was stepping down because I know he was thinking about it around the time I left,” he said.

“But then Covid came and he had to stay to see the club through it.

“He always said he wouldn’t be doing it as long as Geoff did and would be moving on.

“It was always hard for Steve juggling running his own business as well as the football club – and that was difficult for me.

“Like most managers, I wanted things done and done quickly, but he had other things to deal with at the same time.

“He’s got people running the club now so obviously feels the time is right.

“Charlie Fraser is also leaving and he’s been a great servant to the club too. He was fantastic with me during my time there.

“Obviously there will be a bit of uncertainty because of the club going up for sale.

“But I’m sure Geoff and Steve will make sure the next person to own St Johnstone is the right fit.”