St Johnstone are closing in on appointing a new manager, with a leading bookmaker suspending the market after a recent splurge of cash from south of the border on long-time hot favourite for the job, Callum Davidson.
The former Perth player and assistant boss – currently number two at Millwall – has been the leading candidate since Tommy Wright left the club seven weeks ago.
And McBookie announced this afternoon that they have stopped taking bets “after a female punter from England” backed him.
McBookie said on Twitter they “will wait to see how it plays out but these sort of bets are normally on the button”.
Since Wright’s shock exit, caretaker Alec Cleland has been at the helm along with head of football operations Kirsten Robertson.
Chairman Steve Brown had insisted he was in no rush to recruit a permanent replacement for Scottish Cup winner Wright, with the fall-out from the pandemic given priority status.
But with Millwall chasing a play-off spot when the action resumes – and the Perth squad returning for Covid-19 testing next week – a managerial appointment has moved up the agenda.
Davidson hasn’t lacked backing for the Saints job, with his present Millwall boss Gary Rowett among those who have said he is a perfect fit.
He also convincingly came out on top in a fans’ vote.
Apart from Saints and his current club, Davidson has also coached at Dunfermline, Stoke City and Scotland.
And now a return to McDiarmid Park, which he first left in a club record £1.75 million deal to Blackburn Rovers as a teenager, could be on the cards if terms can be thrashed out.
