Saints boss aware of pressure on Fox
LIAM FOX’S revelation that his wife asked him why on earth he wanted to be a manager again struck a chord with Callum Davidson. The St Johnstone manager, who takes his side to Tannadice tomorrow, was bowled a similar question in his house last season as he toiled to lift his team away from the Premiership drop zone. Davidson admits, in his third season as boss, that he continues to learn how best to handle having pressures of the job permanently hanging over him away from the park. That, he says, is the principal difference Fox is about to encounter when making the step up from No 2 to the main man at a top-flight club. Fox, who was made Cowdenbeath manager at the age of 32 six years ago, has been assistant at Hearts, Livingston and Dundee United.
Now he’s back in the firing line with United as Jack Ross’s replacement on a permanent manager’s contract. Davidson said: ‘As an assistant manager you can be mates with the players, you can enjoy taking training — and you can go home and switch off a little bit. ‘For me, the biggest difference was that as manager it becomes 24/7. It’s a cliché but it’s true. ‘Then it’s about learning how to deal with that. It’s probably something I’m still learning to deal with. ‘Going from assistant to being the manager, there’s a different pressure but you know that will be the case. The biggest difference is the buck stops with you.’
Bottom-of-the-table United host St Johnstone in Fox’s first game since his appointment and the recruitment of Stevie Crawford as his right-hand man. Davidson, formerly No2 at Saints to Tommy Wright and at Stoke City and Millwall with Gary Rowett, says it’s impossible to turn down the honour of becoming one of only a dozen top-flight managers in Scotland. He said: ‘You either want to do it or you don’t. But there are only 12 manager jobs in the top league here, you’re privileged to be one of them. So it’s a very hard thing to say no to. ‘Liam knows the club after being at United a wee while so that will give him a bit of a head start first and foremost. I wish him all the best in the new role — after Saturday.’