St Johnstone is a club sculpted in Geoff Brown’s image.
And the work ethic the house builder was accustomed to seeing on his construction sights was instilled in the McDiarmid Park dressing room, according to Saints legend, Jim Weir.
Weir, who captained and coached the Perth side and was awarded a testimonial, can remember nothing but a St Johnstone with the Brown family at the helm.
And the news that Geoff is planning to sell his shares will take a bit of getting used to.
Weir quickly got to know what the owner’s ethos was for the club after signing from Hearts in the early 90s.
And that was reinforced when the chairman was tasked with addressing players following manager Paul Sturrock’s health scare in the dugout during a game against Dundee United.
“I don’t have any doubt that Luggy was his favourite manager,” Weir told Courier Sport.
“They had a great relationship.
“Luggy brought that Jim McLean mentality, which Geoff has got as well.
Former Dundee Utd player and coach Paul Sturrock is appointed the new manager of St Johnstone on this day in 1993. pic.twitter.com/JmJ7bgYals
— Saints On This Day (@SaintsOTD) November 17, 2017
“After Luggy had his heart scare I remember Geoff coming in and telling us that we would be starting to work like his workers.
“We were out at nine in the morning and finishing at five.
“We were leaving training at Kilgraston with miner’s hats on!
“That was the mentality he had. And it worked for us.
“He learned a lot from Luggy and Luggy learned a lot from him.
“They spent a lot of time together watching games. Not a lot of chairmen do that.
“It helped him have a better understanding of football and how to analyse it.”
Saints sale in safe hands
Weir believes Saints supporters should be reassured that Geoff is in control of finding new owners.
“He won’t just sell to the highest bidder,” said the Elgin City assistant manager.
“He’ll make sure he gets a buyer who will take the club in the right direction.
“The family are all supporters and they live and work in the local area.
“The children have all worked at the club – Susan, Stuart, Scott and obviously, Steve.
“It’s the same with the grandchildren. One of them, Jordan, is on the ground staff.
“As a family they’ve sacrificed a lot for St Johnstone, there’s no doubt about that.
“Steve has had big fills to shoes but has done a tremendous job as well.
“He’s got his own reasons for stepping down. The time is right for him. You’ve got to get a balance right in your life and 11 years might not have been as long as Geoff but it’s longer than most chairmen in Scottish football.
“Between them they’ve devoted big parts of their life to St Johnstone. Football is 24/7. It consumes you at times.
“They haven’t done it for money or glory, it’s because the club is in their hearts.
“St Johnstone have been taken from the depths of the lower leagues. No other club can compare.”
Talking sense
Geoff remains one of the most respected football club owners in Scotland – make that the most respected.
“He carries a presence,” said Weir.
“He’s so competitive and what I liked about him was he had a very good understanding of the game.
“If you were in the boardroom after a match, he said all the right things. That’s not very common.
“When I think back to other directors at that time, some of the things they would come out with, I’d be like ‘wow’!
“Geoff spoke sense and he was honest. If you were crap he’d tell you that you were crap.
“I’ve played golf with him a lot over the years and you’d always come away having learned something new for life.
“If you needed to ask him anything he’s always been there for advice – more when I moved into coaching.”
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