TOMMY WRIGHT has felt a huge sense of pride watching St Johnstone from afar this season.
The Perth outfit, under the new leadership of Callum Davidson, have reached the Betfred Cup final and are beginning to find a consistent run of form in the Scottish Premiership.
Wright departed McDiarmid Park in May, but before he left the club, he made sure they were in a strong position for his, at that time, unknown successor.
The Northern Irishman brought the average age of the Saints squad down from 31 to 23 and he takes an enormous amount of satisfaction in seeing the likes of Jason Kerr, Ali McCann, Chris Kane, Jamie McCart, Shaun Rooney and Liam Gordon flourish as regulars at his former club.
“Callum has done well. I’ve spoken to him a few times. I take a sense of pride as he’s probably got three of the best young centre-halves in the league and [Shaun] Rooney has turned out to be a good signing that I did before,” he told Herald and Times Sport.
“Callum has gone in and done his own thing with them, but it was probably the best young squad in the league. We were finishing on a high.
“I think on current form we were the second-best team in the league at the stage when Covid hit, so it was a good squad and he has done remarkably well with them.
“I’m pleased for him and I’m pleased for the club and I take a little bit of pleasure from the fact there are a lot of players that I bought and brought through that are doing well for them.
“But I am Kilmarnock manager now and that will be my focus.”
Some say Wright remained at St Johnstone for too long considering the success he achieved.
But for the 57-year-old, there are certainly no regrets about his seven-year long Perth stint or the tough decision to call time on such a successful period.
He continued: “That’s people’s opinions. In my career, the only opinion I am worried about is mine. I can see why people might have that opinion. They think I should have moved on to bigger clubs.
“I was asked a question, did it annoy me that I didn’t get a move to a big club. It actually didn’t annoy me and doesn’t annoy me. If a bigger club did not want me, I would look upon that as their loss.
“There were big clubs who could have taken me and have ended up in worse positions with the managers they took. If they cannot see what I can do for them then that is not my problem. It does not bother me.”
Wright does expect a tougher job at Kilmarnock in comparison to when he first started at St Johnstone though.
He added: “It was slightly easier for me at St Johnstone as I was already in the building and knew the players inside out. And I knew I could trust the players.
“At St Johnstone, I had to gain their trust in how I would manage, coach and work with them.
“It’s not similar here because, obviously, I’m coming in at the tail end of a season and I only have 11 games this season and it’s always easier going in when the window is open.
“If you have a whole summer to work with the players, make tweaks you want to make, bring the players into a squad, that adds a really good foundation, so St Johnstone would have been easier.
“But that would never have been something I would have considered for not taking this job because I want the challenge and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
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