A history lesson for trigger-happy club directors
The clocks have not yet changed. The season isn’t quite three months old.
Yet already 10 of Scotland’s 42 senior managers have been sacked or seen fit to resign.
Job security for football bosses gets shorter and shorter every time I count.
Already gone since the season kicked off in mid-July are Ian Cathro (Hearts), Jim McIntyre (Ross County), Lee McCulloch (Kilmarnock), Peter Houston (Falkirk), Gary Bollan (Forfar), Willie Aitchison (Airdrie), Gary Locke (Cowdenbeath), Jim Weir (Elgin), John Coughlin (Berwick) and Gary Jardine (Edinburgh City).
Several more are under pressure, including Pedro Caixinha ( Rangers), Alan Archibald ( Partick Thistle) and John Robertson (Inverness CT).
As usual, there has been no shortage of applicants to replace those who’ve headed for the exit.
Even Alex Smith at 77 was happy to continue as Falkirk boss until they appointed Paul Hartley last week.
Neil McCann walked away from far less pressure and much more security with Sky Sports to become Dundee manager during the summer.
McIntyre, while still in shock at his Dingwall dismissal, can’t wait to find another club.
That’s always been the way with football managers. Once it’s in the blood, you’re addicted.
Jim McInally is currently the longest serving oneclub manager in Scotland, having been at Peterhead since 2011.
It’s safe to say the record of one of his mentors, Jim McLean – who spent almost 22 years in charge of Dundee United – will never be broken.
Yet McLean, like his great friend and adversary, Alex Ferguson – who spent almost 27 years in charge of Manchester United – was nearly lost to the game at an early age.
The stories of both McLean and Ferguson should be a lesson in patience for today’s club owners and major shareholders before they become trigger happy.
McLean tried to resign from Tannadice on several occasions in his early years, frustrated at the slow pace of progress.
Fortunately, stalwart directors George Fox and Johnston Grant recognised McLean’s potential and tore up his letters of resignation.
United went on to enjoy the best years in their history under McLean.
A similar scenario unfolded at Old Trafford, although Fergie never tried to resign.
He was under extreme pressure from fans following almost four years of little progress.
Fortunately, Bobby Charlton’s faith in Fergie never waned and when United won the FA Cup in 1990, he was off and running.
As at Tannadice, the Old Trafford club went on to enjoy the best years in their history under Fergie.
So the next time a club considers sacking a manager, they should stop and remember Jim McLean and Alex Ferguson.