Robbie is the name on everyone’s lips
The heat is up and the heat is on as St Mirren step up the hunt for their new manager.
Contestant number five, come on down.
In my five years covering this fine club, the next victim will be my fifth in that time, following in the footsteps of Gary Teale, Ian Murray, Alex Rae and Jack Ross.
A mixed bag I would say, so let’s just leave it at that.
“Next victim” might sound a bit harsh, but Ross’ successor will have it the hardest as any exploits pulled off will forever be compared to the turnaround that came before him.
A hiding to nothing as the old saying goes, both the board and whoever comes in know that it will be a tough act to follow.
But the signs look good for a potential replacement and it is exciting to see that the club haven’t been willing to just sit back and wait for applications.
They have, of course, invited provisional candidates to come forward – and not one person has been ruled out before having a proverbial kick of the ball.
But taking the proactive approach and going to the likes of David Hopkin, Jim Goodwin and Paul Lambert and asking if they would be at least interested shows that Saints aren’t mucking about.
If Lambert and Hopkin would want it is another thing entirely, while surprisingly club legend Goodwin has rebuffed the club’s approach in order to stick with Alloa.
But credit to him, if anything he is the right man at perhaps the wrong time and I have no doubt that if his career continues on the same upward trajectory that has seen him linked with the job in the first place then we still have days of Goodie prowling the touchline to look forward to in the coming years. So, who do we all want? It appears to be a hardy bunch, with the same four or five names all being mentioned pretty much from day dot.
Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson remains a front-runner and has been someone who has entered conversations about replacing Ross long before the former manager had even left the club.
His record at Hearts speaks for itself as he led the club back from relegation at the first time of asking before establishing them as Scotland’s second force in the absence of Rangers.
Of course, question marks remain over who was actually running the show at Tynecastle, was it Neilson or was it Craig Levein, but he will be keen to rebuild his reputation following a failed stint with MK Dons.
A local lad, it is hard to look past Neilson at the moment.
Once seen as the up and coming young manager in Scotland, a combination of Neilson and assistant Stevie Crawford is one, personally, that whets the appetite and shows the ambition of the club should they convince one another that he is the right man to take St Mirren forward both on and off the park.
This year’s Billy Davies candidate appears to be Paul Lambert.
He ticks all the boxes for this category: mates with Tony Fitzpatrick, one time Premier League manager, probably not going to take it, and a surprise to everyone that he is even remotely interested.
Make no bones about it, Lambert would be a coup for St Mirren. He was managing Stoke last season for goodness sake.
Discussions are no further forward with the former Scotland captain but he never completely ruled out returning to the club where he first made the grade by winning the Scottish Cup in 1987.
It would be a real show of intent from St Mirren if they could convince Lambert to come back north, but with the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Stevie Clarke, Steven Gerrard and potentially Lambert in the league next season, it would also help put Scottish football back on the map as a real force.
David Hopkin is another, while Jim McIntyre’s name has never been too far away either.
Hopkin looks more likely to move down south this summer, while McIntyre would probably prove to be a solid appointment without really exciting the fans.
Other names in the mix included Alan Stubbs, Lee Clark and Gary Caldwell. A real who’s who of blokes out of a job.
Stubbs, however, is an intriguing one following a successful spell at Hibs which saw them lift the Scottish Cup before he tried himself down south in the same vein as Neilson.
If he was Scottish then his interest would perhaps been given more attention, though I wouldn’t be too quick to write off the former Everton man.
There are sure to be a couple of more twists and turns along the way, names coming and going.
But regardless of who enters the fray next, they have some big boots to fill.