ON Saturday, St Johnstone fans said goodbye to a club legend as Tommy Wright left the Perth club after a largely successful seven years at the helm. The Northern Irishman’s tenure will primarily be remembered for his side’s Scottish Cup win in 2014 – the first major trophy in the Saints’ history – but the four top-six finishes perhaps pay a greater testament to the scale of Wright’s achievements.
Whoever replaces the 56-year-old in the McDiarmid Park dugout certainly faces a daunting task. Following a figure of such stature at the best of times is hard enough, particularly when Wright’s side had a well-earned reputation for punching above their weight. But to do so amid the ongoing financial uncertainty in Scottish football caused by the Covid-19 pandemic represents an unenviable challenge for Wright’s successor.
While Wright’s decision to leave the club caught a few off-guard, it was perhaps inevitable. Chairman Steve Brown has taken a back seat in the day-to-day running of the club after Kirsten Robertson, formerly chief executive at Kilmarnock, was hired in November as head of football operations. Wright’s relationship with the club board became increasingly strained, with the Saints boss left frustrated at the lack of signings made in the January transfer window.
“I have lost out on players because we are not in a position at this moment in time to make offers,” he said. “The hope seems to be that I’ll keep pulling rabbits out of the hat in the last week of the window. But I know one thing, I’m not taking responsibility for this transfer window.”
A couple of weeks later, Wright downplayed his comments, insisting that Brown doesn’t get the credit that he deserves and that there was no divide between himself and the club’s board. But the situation would suggest that Wright’s successor, whoever that may be, could find player recruitment challenging.
Bringing players in could well be problematic but perhaps the bigger task will be simply retaining the better players on the books at the Perth club. Speaking in February, Brown revealed his dismay at the size of the club’s wage bill, arguing that the club were not living within their means. Downsizing in financial terms, it seems, is a priority.
“I think our wage bill is the sixth in the league, which is far too high. We can't sustain that,” Brown admitted. “We went for it at the start of the season. We thought we could get into the top six and have a cup run but we just haven't performed and that leaves a huge financial gap and concerns.
“We have got reserves, so unfortunately this year we will be hitting them in a big way and posting heavy losses, which is not good.”
The decision from Saints to sell out McDiarmid Park to Celtic and Rangers fans will go some way to mitigating these losses – for home games against the Old Firm, away tickets are now available for three of the four stands – but the Premiership club will be determined to hold onto their prize assets, of which there are a fair few.
Wright leaves behind a core of impressive youngsters at the club. Midfielder Ali McCann is probably the most exciting of these, having enjoyed a superb debut campaign in the top flight, but there are others too; club captain Jason Kerr continues to show great promise in defence, January recruit Jamie McCart is a savvy addition and has enjoyed a fine start to life in the Premiership, and Callum Hendry, son of former Scotland captain Colin, is a talented young forward who will surely be getting more minutes whenever football resumes.
The challenge for the new manager will be to retain the services of these youngsters and to attempt to build a team around this impressive spine. Inverness right-back Shaun Rooney will arrive in the summer having agreed a pre-contract with St Johnstone, and is another who is tipped to make the step up from the Championship to the top flight with ease. If Wright’s successor can hold onto these players for another season and add one or two players of his own, then another top-six finish is not beyond the realms of possibility.
The question of who the next Saints manager will be is an interesting one. Former St Johnstone defender and assistant manager Callum Davidson is the early favourite according to the bookies, while another ex-player, Dave Mackay, is seen by some as an obvious choice having previously coached the Perth club’s under-20s side. More left-field suggestions include Gary Caldwell, Barry Ferguson and Steve Lomas, while Cleland’s name is also believed to be in the mix.
But of all the names being linked with the vacancy at McDiarmid Park, Caley Thistle manager John Robertson is arguably the best fit. The former Hearts boss has a track record of getting his sides to punch above their weight financially and has a good record of developing young players – something that will be essential for any candidate for the job.
Whether or not Robertson could be tempted to leave Inverness is another matter entirely, as the Championship runners-up could find themselves in the Premiership next season should league reconstruction go ahead. But, on paper at least, he looks like a smart choice – if Saints can afford the compensation package that would be required to pry him away from the Highlands.
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