ALAS, it is with a heavy heart that I say the day has arrived that all St Mirren supporters were dreading, with manager Jack Ross set to be unveiled as the new boss of Sunderland.

It is little wonder that Buddies everywhere will be mourning his loss from the club. What a job he has done since picking up the reins in October 2016. The Saints were staring into the relative abyss of League One when he took charge, and the turnaround since then has been astounding.

It was impressive enough that he managed to mastermind the great escape with that draw at Easter Road on the last day of his first season, but to take the team on to another level again and deliver the Championship title in the very next campaign was an incredible feat.

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The timing, of course, could hardly be worse for St Mirren as they begin their preparations for their first season back in the top flight, but there is no way that any St Mirren supporter could realistically grudge Jack this opportunity, and the club just couldn’t stand in his way. He deserves this chance, and I can see him doing really well down there.

Yes, Sunderland have been a basket case for quite some time, and it is staggering to see such a huge institution down in League One. But if anything, Jack is getting in at the perfect time.

When Derek McInnes turned down the chance to take over at the Stadium of Light, it was a very different landscape down on Wearside. Previous owner Ellis Short has now departed and has left the club debt free as a parting gift. A parachute payment of £36 million will leave them in decent financial shape, and they will in all likelihood have the biggest budget of any team in League One by a considerable distance.

Yes, there are one or two legacy issues to deal with such as having ridiculously high-earning players such as Jack Rodwell to move on, and he will be dealing with players who possess huge egos a lot of the time. It will be a very different environment than the one he has experienced in his managerial career to date at the likes of Alloa and St Mirren, but he has all the tools to handle that. Ask any of his players about him, and they all rave about him. His man-management is top drawer.

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So, it seems as though Jack will be going in at a time when everything is set up for him to be successful. If he can get promoted back to the Championship at the first attempt, he will be a hero to the supporters and his already considerable reputation will be enhanced further. There is no doubt that Sunderland are a sleeping giant, and the man who can get them back on track and back in the big-time will be treated like a God down there.

Good luck to him. It’s not his fault that such a massive job has come his way when it has, but as I mentioned earlier, it does leave St Mirren in a little bit of a pickle that they could really be doing without.

When examining who the club should go for next as manager, I’m caught a little between two stools. On the one hand, an experienced hand on the tiller might be the best thing going into the first season in the Premiership, but on the other, a young manager in the mould of Jack Ross may well be the best approach to pick up the project where he left it.

The good news is that the club is in terrific shape, with their own training ground, and should prove attractive.

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Jim Goodwin might not be the worst shout, despite his relative inexperience. He has done a great job at Alloa, getting them promoted to the Championship with the dramatic play-off win over Dumbarton, so he has followed a similar career trajectory to Jack Ross so far. And of course, he is absolutely steeped in St Mirren having played there and captained the club for so long. He is a legend in the eyes of the supporters having skippered them to the League Cup win in 2013, and he would enjoy a lot of good will were he to land the post.

Whatever happens, the St Mirren board have to act fast, because even if Jack was staying they would still need a host of new signings if they are to compete in the Premiership. The squad they have at present won’t survive. There is a massive job to be done over the summer.

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They will have to find the money to have a proper go at it, and I’m sure they would like John McGinn to move on from Hibs to give the player kitty a significant boost. Either way, it is so important that they don’t rest on their laurels after such a successful season.

There is no point in undoing all the good work that has been done simply because the manager has left, because as they know all too well, if you drop back into the Championship it can be a hugely difficult place to escape from.

League One in England, I fancy for Jack Ross, may well prove a little simpler. I’m sure all St Mirren fans would join me in wishing him all the best.