Buddies boss Ross turns down Tykes offer

JACK ROSS last night walked away from the chance to join Barnsley so he could concentrate on winning promotion with St Mirren.

The 42-year-old spoke to the English Championship side yesterday about becoming their next manager but after some soul-searching opted to stay in Paisley.

SportTimes revealed on Wednesday that St Mirren were confident of keeping their manager and wh i le Barnsley would have been in a position to vastly increase Ross’s wages, he was not convinced this was the right move for him at this time. St Mirren, who face second-placed Livingston tomorrow, h a v e opened up a 14-point lead at the top of the Championship table with even their closest rivals having all but conceded the title to them. And Ross (inset) wants to be there when they win the league.

A factor i n Ross’s thinking is that Barnsley are in the relegation places in the English Championship; however, the key motive is the bond Jack has built with St Mirren who lured him from Alloa Athletic in October 2016.

St Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick said this week that come the summer he expected 100 clubs to enquire about Ross, who captained the club during his playing days.

And while Ross is expected to move on eventually, either down south or to one of the bigger Premiership sides, St Mirren supporters can take comfort in the fact that their team are not going to lose its figurehead when promotion is so close.