No sooner had David Weir spoken this week of his recent sacking by Sheffield United, and Terry Butcher was appointed by Hibs. These two events should not go unconnected.

Weir's early foray into management had been both disastrous and deeply wounding. He lasted four months at Bramall Lane, won just one match in 13 attempts, and had his club sitting in 22nd place in England's third tier when the chop came.

If you want to see how truly abysmal Weir's experience was in Sheffield, just Google his final interview as Sheffield United manager to appreciate his fate and his mood.

I've always liked and admired Weir. He was a smashing footballer who was and remains ever courteous. That said, his Sheffield sacking surprised no-one.

People have been asking of Weir this week, "fancy another foray into management?" and he has been distinctly circumspect with his answers.

Is his confidence dented? Does he feel unsure about it all? The answer must surely be 'yes' to both these questions. But Weir need look no further than to Butcher's experience to know that his early setback may mean nothing in terms of his future in football.

Butcher has just walked in to Easter Road, cock-a-hoop at landing the Hibs job. It is all a long way off from - just like Weir - his first, disastrous attempts at management.

In 1991 Butcher lasted 13 months in charge of Coventry City, leaving them in 15th place in the league when he was binned at the old Highfield Road.

His second assault at it was scarcely better. Butcher lasted from January to November 1993 as Sunderland boss before the directors there decided that his team's plunge towards relegation had to be stemmed. Butcher was bounced out the door once more.

Remarkably, the man we now see doing a farmer's jig into the manager's office at Easter Road then had eight years out of football management, between 1993 and 2001. It was Eric Black, in appointing Butcher as his assistant at Motherwell, who handed Big Tel a long-overdue passport back into the game.

Even since then, Bucher has occasionally perfected the art of making a sow's ear out of a silk purse.

He did relatively well at Motherwell in his four years there. But then followed two further disasters, at Sydney FC (9 months) and Brentford (7 months) before Inverness Caledonian Thistle handed Butcher another chance, ahead of such loopy candidates as Ossie Ardiles, in January 2009.

The rest is a story about Terry Butcher's managerial redemption. He has performed magnificently at Caley Thistle and his ticket is hot once again. Rod Petrie, to everyone's nodded agreement, called him "the outstanding candidate" for the Hibs job.

Tell me this: after his two sackings back in 1992-93, how many would have looked ahead 20 years and tipped Butcher to be a sought-after manager?

Davie Weir should look to the Butcher saga as a source of great encouragement. I don't know if Weir has got it or not to be a football manager but one thing is clear: you can try and try and try again before you finally come good.

Butcher was also refreshing because he wasn't overly proud - he went right down to near the bottom of the football pile in order to re-buff his credentials at Inverness.

It's the way to go. Craig Levein, among others, is only the latest to discover this. A smaller club like Caley Thistle - and, in my view, a great club by the way - can be the perfect spot to make a success of yourself again.

I actually can't think of too many managers who have come through as erratic an experience as Terry Butcher. His managerial career has been like a fairground ride in its scatty ups and downs.

Davie Weir take note…you can come good again.