CHAIRMAN Gordon Scott hopes a semblance of stability can finally be restored to St Mirren after appointing Jack Ross as the club’s fifth manager in two-and-a-half years. Ross, who will take charge of Alloa Athletic for the final time in their Irn-Bru Cup tie away to Welsh side Bala Town on Saturday, replaces Alex Rae who was sacked last month after a poor start to the season. St Mirren sit bottom of the Ladbrokes Championship without a victory from their opening eight matches.
The appointment is the first by the new board since Scott spearheaded a fans-led takeover of the club in the summer and follows an “exhaustive process” during which a plethora of candidates were spoken to including Billy Davies, Neil Warnock, and Mixu Paatelainen. The new owner hopes it will be some time before he has go through it all again.
“We need to stick with Jack and back him,” said Scott. “And we will do that. That’s why we went through an exhaustive process. We see this as a long-term appointment. It’s no coincidence we had Gus MacPherson here for seven years and Danny Lennon for four. That’s what works.
“Jack was the perfect fit and ticked all the boxes. To be honest I would have been happy with any of the ones we spoke to. But Jack was the one we thought was the best fit. He was at Dumbarton when Ian Murray was manager and talking to people it came out that Jack was very involved in the progress of that team. I think he will be a good manager.”
Ross, who will look to appoint former St Mirren defender John Potter as his assistant, would not be drawn on the suggestion that he could not have worked with the previous board – thought to be a legacy from his days as a St Mirren player – but admitted it was important as a manager to feel comfortable with the people behind the scenes.
“There has to be a fit between the people who run the club and the manager,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread but I have my own personality and way of doing things and that fits with some people and others it doesn’t. I was lucky that I had a good fit with the chairman at Alloa Athletic [Mike Mulraney]. He was hugely supportive, creative and a good fit for me. It’s early but the feeling I’ve had from Gordon and Tony [Fitzpatrick, chief executive] is that I’ll have that at St Mirren. I’ve seen managers who have had breakdowns in relationships with chairmen and you need to have a positive relationship.”
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