Stewart Milne called long-time friend Geoff Brown when he was in the market for a new manager.
And the former St Johnstone chairman had no hesitation in giving his one-time rookie boss Derek McInnes a rave review.
The Aberdeen chief was in the market for a successor to Craig Brown when Brown got the call last year and McInnes was available after being cut loose by Championship strugglers Bristol City.
Brown was quick to reassure Milne that Dons fans would quickly forget McInnes’s time with Rangers if he brought success back to the Granite City.
And now that McInnes, who led Saints back to the top fight after a seven-year absence before being lured south, has delivered the Dons their first trophy in nearly 20 years Brown reckons fellow housebuilder Milne owes him big time.
“I am sure Stewart will be coming up with a nice donation to St Johnstone FC as a wee thank you for services rendered. After all, do agents not get paid?” said Brown, who stood down after 25 years at the helm when McInnes moved on.
“My recommendation was primarily based on the individual. Del is just so single-minded and determined. He knows what he wants.
“You don’t get the gobbledegook that most managers give you.
“They are a bit like horse trainers. They tell you that if you change this and change that then you’ll get to where you want to be.
“But he has it in his head what he wants to do and he does it, as you have seen with Aberdeen this season. I think very, very highly of the guy.
“Go around the country and you will find that each club has a team captain that ordinarily is the strongest individual within the set-up. Derek was captain at most of his clubs, including West Brom.
“His history as a player at other clubs and also in his short time here under Owen Coyle told me he was a stand-out leader.
“If you can take those qualities into management then you have a chance. You command respect. That is what Derek has done in Aberdeen.
“I didn’t think Derek had to make a lot of changes when he came in to Pittodrie. Take Celtic out of the equation and anyone can beat anyone in the Premier League.
“But he got the wheels going quickly, they should finish second and they’ve done exceptionally well.
“He’s won them a trophy and they had 40,000 people buying tickets for the final. That was incredible.”
Brown was denied a Scottish Cup final in his quarter century in charge but he’s hoping son Steve and current manager Tommy Wright have more luck, with the Dons again barring their way to Celtic Park in next month’s Scottish Cup semi.
“Mr McInnes has won one cup but he’s not winning two. There’s no need to get greedy,” said Brown.
“I don’t think there’s any question that I envied Stewart his moment of glory on Sunday. I know what it meant to him after all these years.
“I have always wanted to see a St Johnstone team win a cup and it was something that didn’t happen during my time as chairman.
“Bear in mind Aberdeen are sitting there with probably the highest wage bill outwith Celtic in the SPFL. It is a club in a large and successful city with a big catchment area and they can take advantage of that.”
Ahead of the Scottish Cup semi clash, Brown added: “We lost 4-0 in the League Cup but we should have taken a point at least from our last trip to Pittodrie when we lost 1-0. There was plenty that day to give us encouragement for our next semi-final.”