St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown admits that whoever he chooses to take over from Derek McInnes will have an incredibly hard act to follow.
Club captain Jody Morris has been installed as joint favourite to follow in the footsteps of McInnes and become a second successive dressing room appointment. The former Chelsea midfielder is popular with supporters after helping the Perth club to promotion back to the top flight and then consolidating their position in the SPL.
He also has a long list of contacts in English football, and has been instrumental in luring the likes of Michael Duberry across the border. At 32 he might be considered too young for the post, however.
The other co-favourite is former Saint Paul Sheerin, who guided Arbroath out of the Third Division last season and has since taken them to the top of the Second Division.
Other names in the frame include Raith’s John McGlynn, out-of-work duo Jim Jefferies and John Hughes, ex-Saints Gary Bollan and Michael O’Neill, Sky pundit Neil McCann, Dunfermline’s Jim McIntyre, Cowdenbeath’s Colin Cameron and Rangers veteran David Weir.
Former Perth hero Duberry has backed Brown to strike gold for a third time when he makes his decision.
He said: ”It will obviously be sad for St Johnstone fans to see Del and Doc go but the vast majority of them are wishing them well. I still keep in touch with plenty of the supporters on Twitter and they are proud of what Derek has achieved at the club.
”You will always get one or two grumbling about leaving before the job is finished but most people know he’s left the club in a strong position. It’s going to be a difficult job for the next man to keep it going but there is a very good squad of players there.
”The chairman has a fantastic track record of appointing up-and-coming managers so it will be interesting to see who he goes for. Not many clubs see two managers in a row leave for England, so Geoff Brown has something of a lucky touch.
”In fact, I might get him to pick my lottery numbers for me this weekend.”
McInnes was confirmed as the new Bristol City boss on Wednesday after finalising the terms of a 3-year deal with the English Championship strugglers. His assistant Tony Docherty will also be heading south.
For Brown the hunt now begins for a successor and there would appear to be no realistic prospect that he’ll get his man in time for Saturday’s Tayside derby against Dundee United.
As far as the trip to Tannadice is concerned, Brown confirmed youth coach Alec Cleland will take charge of the team.
In his four years at the helm at McDiarmid Park McInnes guided Saints to the First Division, kept them up and took them to Hampden on several occasions for national cup semi-finals. He leaves them sitting joint fourth of the SPL after the first quarter of the season.
Brown said: ”We wish Derek well because he’s done an excellent job in his time as St Johnstone manager. Our fans will be just as upset that he’s leaving as I am.
“Unfortunately the facts are that St Johnstone will always be a stepping stone. Let’s hope the next manager can do just as good a job. He’ll certainly have a difficult task to do that or even better.”
Brown pointed out that he ”hadn’t even started the process” of recruiting the next Saints manager.
”People who are applying for the job will have to realise where we are in Scottish football,” he said. ”We won’t be throwing about big bucks on players.
“Whether we give the job to somebody who applies or we make an approach ourselves will depend on what comes out of the woodwork. There will be pros and cons for every candidate.”
McInnes beat off competition from Mark Robins for the post, and his new chairman, Colin Sexstone, described him as one of the most highly-rated young managers in Britain.
Sexstone added: ”We’re delighted to welcome Derek and Tony to Bristol City. Throughout this process we received applications from a host of very strong candidates, but in the end Derek stood out above all others.
”He was the unanimous choice of the board of directors and majority shareholder. He’s an impressive character who is very highly thought of in the game and comes here on the back of a superb stint at St Johnstone.
”He’s a manager on the up with a real understanding of the game.”
Continued…