It was only in August that Steve Lomas was considered to be a manager facing the deepest pressure.
His St Johnstone team failed to win their opening five league matches, drawing only two of them, and Lomas' position was already thought to be under scrutiny. "It was a bit of creative journalism," he says now with a grin.
There is no scorn, only a willingness to acknowledge that fortunes can alter sharply in the game. Lomas was yesterday named the manager of the month for September, after his side won four consecutive games, beginning with a 2-1 victory over Celtic that involved them coming back from falling a goal behind. He talks about trying to keep his mood balanced in times of success and failure, but the change in circumstances is a stark reminder of the competitiveness of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
St Johnstone are only three points off the top of the table, and three points off second bottom. There is little worth in making sweeping judgments, only recognising that Lomas managed to prevent his team falling into decline. They lost five consecutive games at the end of last season, but it was legitimate for Lomas to point out that losing 12 players in the summer was also a hindrance. He might have encountered occasional self-doubts, since this is his first significant managerial job, but he sought reassurance from more experienced figures.
"It's a learning curve, you always make mistakes and I'm sure I'll make a lot more," Lomas says. "I was speaking to David Moyes recently and said to him, 'in what way do you deal with second guessing yourself and wondering if you've done the right thing?' He said, 'well how many times have you second-guessed your team selection'? I said, 'about three or four'. And he said, 'well you're all right, I have about 10 or 11 on the day of the game'. So it's good to speak to people like David, Harry Redknapp, Craig Brown who have been there, seen it, done it and got the T-shirt. Or in Craig's case, probably got four or five T-shirts.
"It would be wrong not tap into people with that kind of experience. It gives you an understanding that you ain't the first and you ain't going to be the last. Some people like to think they're reinventing the wheel in football, but the problems are the same as 20 years ago."
Lomas talks a lot about the "character" of his players, their spirit and their resolve. These are qualities that managers appreciate when results are faltering, since they provide a sense of hope that fortunes might change. The St Johnstone team is still evolving, and one summer signing, Craig Beattie, has yet to even make his debut due to injury. If Lomas seems at ease, it is because his side overcame a period of unease and the players showed themselves to be capable of putting their trust in their manager.
"No matter what you say, when you play well and you're not winning it becomes a bit of a drain," Lomas added. "I've always said performances look after results but that wasn't happening in a couple of games. If you're playing well and not getting wins, it can be disheartening. To concede so early [against Celtic] you think, 'here we go, this could be a long 85 minutes'.
"It's unfortunate and something we've just got to live with in Scotland, but the focus after the game was on how bad Celtic were, not how good St Johnstone were. The two goals were of high quality, but that seemed to be overlooked. But you only have to look at how well they played in Moscow to show what a good team they are."
Lomas may seek the advice of his peers, but he understands that he is essentially on his own. That the rise and fall of results will be used to measure his worth as a manager. "It's important that whenever you're doing well you don't get too high and don't get too low when you're down," he says, speaking from fresh experience.
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