Callum ticks all the boxes to make a right good go at Saints
Kieran McAnespie believes newly-appointed St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson has all the attributes to shine in the role.
The former Perth winger learned his trade at McDiarmid Park and cracked a smile when news filtered through about the club’s appointment late last week.
McAnespie was only a youngster when he played alongside Davidson and, even then, was impressed with his temperament and effortless ability to command respect.
Filling the shoes of departed Tommy Wright is a gargantuan task but McAnespie feels chairman Steve Brown has made the correct call.
“Callum is a very clever guy,” said
McAnespie, who started his career at Saints. “For most players, the transition and the next step in your career is to get into coaching.
“He has been successful with that in the last few years. I’m absolutely delighted for him because he is a lovely guy.
“He always had a killer smile, was pretty quiet but could be very effective. If there was a wind-up going on, he could be part of it and you’d never know.
“I don’t think anyone who has ever played with him would say anything other than he is a really nice, genuine guy.
“But he takes his football seriously and you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him, that’s for sure.
“What Tommy Wright did for St Johnstone, it was phenomenal. It’s always the dream to win the Scottish Cup with a smaller club because you seldom see it.
“There would have been a lot of names flung into the hat when Tommy left. Callum is at a stage now where the experience he has got is exceptional.
“He will come with his own ideas, style and ethos but he knows what it takes to win the Scottish Cup with a club of St Johnstone’s size.
“I think he is definitely the man to fill Tommy’s shoes.”
McAnespie, who is manager of West of Scotland League side Cumbernauld United, is sure Davidson’s previous experience at the club will stand him in good stead.
“Whatever football club you go to, the pressure is on you right away,” said McAnespie, previously manager at Clydebank.
“The fact he has signed a three-year contract says a lot about the club’s ambition.
“Ultimately, he has only been an assistant and a coach prior to this. The difference from being a coach to number one is that what you say is gospel.
“I went from a coach at Glenafton to manager at Clydebank. I got respect as a coach and a wee bit of respect as a senior player at clubs.
“There are so many permutations that arrive with being a number one. Callum will now have to digest all of this.
“But as I said, he is a very intelligent man and will know all that. He has worked with some top players at the top level.
“This will hold him in good stead. Going back to St Johnstone is an excellent starting platform for him. He knows the club, the club knows him.
“There are still people involved even from when I played. These things help, particularly during the bedding-in period.”
That bedding-in period will have somewhat of a peculiar feel amid the coronavirus outbreak as clubs prepare for an August start.
Saints are set to resume training this week, but only in small groups in order to adhere to the latest guidelines.
“I took over the Cumbernauld job during the coronavirus,” McAnespie explained. “It has all been done over the phone or Zoom and that makes it surreal.
“The good thing for Callum is, at that level, they can get back training and get ready for the league starting. I think he will be excellent.
“The old cliché is that time will tell. But he has this opportunity at a very good club who want to move forward in the right way. It’s everyone’s dream to manage the first major club you worked at. It is mine as well.”
Despite all of these kind words, McAnespie does hold a light-hearted grudge against Davidson and the ScottishCup winning coaching squad.
“I remember meeting Tommy and Callum at Costa Coffee in Hillington a few years ago,” laughed McAnespie, who has recently joined the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
“I made one of those schoolboy, bumbling wreck comments because they