David McCarthy
ROY MacGREGOR has always struck me as a voice of reason in what is often the unreasonable world of Scottish football. A man who preached sanity among the insanity that can engulf our game.
But when the news broke MacGregor had sacked Jim McIntyre as manager of Ross County I really did think he had taken leave of his senses.
I don’t know McIntyre. Our paths haven’t really crossed other than at the odd post-match press conference so this view isn’t an old pals’ act.
It’s simply a look from outside peering in and it makes no sense whatsoever.
Yes, four points from the first seven games is a poor return. But look at who County have played – Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs. Of the three other matches, they’ve beaten Dundee away, lost to Motherwell and drawn with Partick. That’s not bad and coming up they have winnable matches against Kilmarnock, Hearts and Hamilton.
If McIntyre had guided County to seven points out of nine from those games we’d be talking about how well they’ve done.
Because here’s the rub. Sitting 10th is the best MacGregor should be expecting from his team with the budget, fanbase and geographical disadvantages they have. McIntyre has produced a miracle, from his first season where eight wins and a draw in nine games steered County away from the drop zone to winning the League Cup in March 2016.
Throw in finishes of sixth and seventh in the last two seasons and this was a club punching miles above their weight.
Liam Boyce was developed into a striker who finished last season with more league goals than anyone in the country. It earned his club £500,000 when Boyce was sold to Burton.
But that transfer also took 24 goals out of the team and any club would struggle to replace that. The year before Jackson Irvine, their midfield dynamo, was sold. Like Tommy Wright at St Johnstone, McIntyre constantly had to replace his best players and while he received good backing from MacGregor and his board it was a tough gig.
Does MacGregor really think someone will deliver another trophy and take County higher than sixth or seventh? Because that’s the height of the bar set.
He has shown a lack of respect for McIntyre’s achievements and is taking a massive risk.
If County go the way of Inverness and end up in the Championship MacGregor will rue the day he axed McIntyre.
Falkirk also sacked Peter Houston over the weekend and if ever there was a panic merchant decision this was it.
Sitting second bottom of the Championship after the success of the past few seasons is as unexpected as it is unacceptable.
But Houston earned the right to have a bit longer to turn it around. This manager went toe to toe with serious heavyweights and wasn’t found wanting.
Hearts, Hibs and Rangers were in the same division and yet the play-offs were reached. They knocked Hibs out of them two seasons ago and only when they ran out of gas in the second leg of the final against Kilmarnock were they denied a top-flight place. Last term, Falkirk lost in the semi to Dundee United by the narrowest of margins.
And don’t forget the reaching of the Scottish Cup Final when they were the better team against Inverness.
Houston watched good players such as Luke Leahy and Will Vaulks head back south and this season it has been a struggle. At 57, Houston wouldn’t have panicked. But his board did and all those achievements counted for nothing.
It’s a tough old business. But it’s also one where common sense often goes out the window and that happened over the weekend, leaving two very good managers out of work.
And probably leaving plenty who are in work looking over their shoulders.
Does he really think someone else will deliver a trophy and go higher than sixth?