St Johnstone skipper Jody Morris has first-hand knowledge of new boss Steve Lomas’ will to win.
Morris faced him in London derbies when he was skipper of Chelsea and Lomas was captain of West Ham at the age of just 23. Now, as the former Northern Ireland international prepares for his first match in charge of Saints tonight against Aberdeen, his former opponent has identified just why he feels Lomas is such a good appointment in Perth.
Morris recalled: ”I played against him a couple of times in his West Ham days. They were London derbies, so there was a bit of spice and in midfield you would see a few tackles flying in. Despite what he says, I’m sure he kicked me more than I kicked him.
”I know what type of player he was. He was a winner, a good footballer and he was captain of a club like West Ham at a time when they had some big characters in the dressing-room. That tells you what the gaffer was about as a player.
”There are people you can tell straight away are captain material, even at a young age. Harry Redknapp obviously saw it in him when he first arrived at West Ham. He was a natural leader, so being a manager can be an extension of that.
“We have a couple of mutual friends, and in conversation they said words like ‘leader’ and ‘honest’ spring to mind when they think about him.”
After former St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes left for Bristol City, Morris helped the caretaker manager, U19 coach Alec Cleland, prepare the side.
Now that 37-year-old Lomas is in charge, the midfielder is happy to return to a full-time playing role and is determined to get the new era off to a winning start.
He said: ”It’s good for everyone that it’s all done and dusted now and we can get our heads down. The board had to take their time to make their decision and be confident it was the right one.
”It’s never ideal being in a temporary situation, but it wasn’t a problem for the players. We didn’t play well against St Mirren, but that wasn’t an excuse.
”Now have a new manager in and we can’t wait to kick on and get a game going.”
Lomas, who will be assisted by long-time friend and former Lisburn Distillery boss Tommy Wright, said: ”It’s a great game for us to start with. It’s live on TV and I’m sure the lads will be more than up for it and want to put in a good performance.
”I met them after the press conference on Thursday and watched Alec take the training, which was good and lively. I was very happy with what I saw.
”Alec has been up in Scotland for a long time and he will be very influential. We are picking his brain to get a feel for it.
”I’ll also be using Jody. He is vastly experienced and he’s been up here for years now and loving it. He is a senior man and club captain so it would be unwise of me not to tap into him.
”We have been watching a lot of DVDs of the team and Aberdeen.”
Saints will be without the injured Sean Higgins, Sam Parkin and Jamie Adams.