St Johnstone supporters might not have put Preston North End at the top of a list of clubs they would expect to organise a seamless transition from one manager to another.
Memories of it taking until the last couple of hours of deadline day for a final clinching bid to be made for Ali McCann are still all too fresh and raw.
But those St Johnstone supporters should be extremely grateful that Frankie McAvoy to Ryan Lowe has been the very definition of a swift succession.
Oh, and even more grateful that the swift succession wasn’t Frankie McAvoy to Callum Davidson.
Although the Perth boss was in Preston’s top three, he wasn’t their main target, and the Deepdale side had clearly done enough preparatory work to come to the conclusion formal interviews with anybody other than Lowe were unnecessary.
✍️ Preston North End Football Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Ryan Lowe as first team manager.
➡️ https://t.co/dlvOmkq9Jb#pnefc #LoweAnnounced pic.twitter.com/nv71lvBVTf
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) December 7, 2021
The way things have been going for Saints of late, with injuries taking their toll, form being lost and goals and victories drying up, a drawn-out managerial saga was the last thing they needed.
Perth dread
Due to Davidson’s Preston connections, Perth fans feared this would be the post most likely to be filled by their double-winning head coach.
Every Championship defeat increased the feeling of dread for those paying attention to the English second tier table.
Preston North End have sacked their manager and reports suggest they are interested in the manager who is already employed with another club, with Callum Davidson and Ryan Lowe (Plymouth) the bookies favourites
Hopefully CD doesn’t leave, would be a huge loss
— ATS (@AllThingsSTJ) December 6, 2021
To see those worries washed away less than 24 hours after they peaked is a better scenario than any of them could have realistically hoped for.
When news broke of McAvoy’s sacking in the early evening on Monday, it would have been a reasonable assumption to expect the Saints v Aberdeen build-up to be dominated by a ‘will Callum be away’ narrative.
The man himself wouldn’t have lost focus but others, including his players, could have.
It hasn’t given Saints any points to move them up the table but, be in no doubt, Preston appointing anyone other than Callum Davidson is a cause for celebration.
Losing him mid-season would have been a harder blow to absorb than any player being sidelined, any defeat or any transfer target missed out on.
Preston won’t see it as their loss. Why would they? They identified the man they wanted and got him. A fine manager he looks to be too.
But the removal of the Lilywhite shadow from McDiarmid Park for the foreseeable future has undoubtedly been St Johnstone’s gain.
