The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Stubbs’ patience pays off as he lands ‘right’ job
NEW BOSS: Former Hibs manager raring to go after Buddies appointment
New St Mirren manager Alan Stubbs admits he ran the risk of becoming the forgotten man of football after 20 months in the wilderness.
But the former Hibernian boss believes his decision not to leap back in at the first opportunity has paid off after landing the “right” job at Saints.
Stubbs wrote his name into Leith folklore when his guidance helped end Hibs’ 114-year wait for a Scottish Cup triumph.
But his decision to quit Easter Road just days after that 2016 win to take over at Rotherham backfired as he lasted just five months at the New York Stadium.
It has been a fretful period since with the ex-celtic and Everton defender concerned he would not get the second chance at management he was looking for.
But having opted against taking a number of posts he felt were not the right fit, he is determined to prove he is a better boss now than when he left the Millers having mustered just one win from 14 games in charge.
“I didn’t ever think there wouldn’t be an opportunity to go back in,” Stubbs insisted after agreeing a three-year deal at St Mirren.
“What I did think about was whether I’d get the right opportunity to go back in and succeed.
“What you find is that the longer you’re out of it, the clubs you’d like to be linked with you’re not getting a chance at.
“It does cross your mind that you’re being forgotten about.
“But from my point of view, in those 20 months I turned down three or four jobs and had two interviews.
“So it wasn’t as if I was sitting there thinking, ‘Oh dear, nothing is really coming here’. That’s why I’ve been able to be a bit picky about choosing my next job. It had to feel right.
“I’m excited to be back in. For me, I was out of the game for too long.”
Saints certainly offer Stubbs a promising platform to relaunch his career.
He inherits a squad from ex-boss Jack Ross still buoyant after winning the Ladbrokes Championship.
But while chairman Gordon Scott would be happy with a survival fight as long as Stubbs maintains the attacking brand of football he employed at Hibs, the new man is setting his sights higher.
Stubbs - who beat big-name candidates like Guti and Patrick Kluivert to land his new post - said: “It’s not very often you get a job with a team that’s just been promoted and we want to build on the feel-good factor. Next season we want to finish as high as we possibly can.”