The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Saints fans calling for the head of manager Wright should be careful what they wish for
Saints still have Wright man in charge
There have been mutterings of disaffection from some St Johnstone fans about manager Tommy Wright after Saints’ dire start to the season.
The club’s current position propping up the Premiership table needs quickly remedied.
Wright’s side on paper is equipped to move further up the league but the table doesn’t lie.
Without a win in their opening seven league games, and only five goals scored with 18 conceded, it makes grim reading.
However, these are early days and Wright is a smart operator who has been over the course before.
His team are down but far from out.
Saints aren’t isolated, with Hibs only two points and Hearts just three points, ahead of them.
Both of those clubs have budgets which Wright can only dream about, and their plight proves that no club, irrespective of reputation or previous achievements, can rest on its laurels.
Restoring Stevie May to his previous full potential, tightening up a defence which needs to deal with set-pieces better and ensuring that better possession in games like last weekend’s defeat by Motherwell translates to goals, are all things which need to be addressed.
However, some Saints fans who are thinking a change of manager is required should be very careful what they wish for.
Managers can’t rest on their record or live on previous achievements, but Wright is doing none of these things.
He is going through a tough period, and at times scratching his head as to how to fix things, but his pedigree points to him being able to correct the situation.
Knee-jerk reactions in changing managers can have very long lasting and seriously damaging effects on a football club.
A miserable period of form, which a team can eventually emerge from given patience, is infinitely preferable to a fashionable change of boss, which can lead to a club rapidly losing its way, and taking years to recover from.
The old saying you never miss the water till the well runs dry is very apt.
Supporters who think a new man at the helm is the answer might find if their wish was granted that a long period of drought followed, leaving them thirsting for the many good times they had previously enjoyed.
At Dens Park James Mcpake is at a different stage of his managerial career, but the pressures are the same.
The Dundee boss needs a change in fortunes, as his team struggle to find the form he believes they’re capable of.
All any manager can do when wins aren’t coming is keep the players grafting away on the training ground, and try to remain constantly upbeat and impart belief to his team.
Any sign of negativity quickly transfers itself in the tight confines of a football club, so even if a manager has niggling doubts, the need to mask them and remain unerringly certain requires him to be an actor as well as a manager.
A fine line has to be walked between galvanising players with critical advice while reassuring them of his faith in them. It’s a task which frequently requires the combined abilities of De Niro and Pacino.