He has already hailed Tommy Wright as St Johnstone’s most successful manager.
And former chairman Geoff Brown reckons a second place finish this season would confirm the Ulsterman’s team as the best in the Perth club’s history.
Brown admitted Wright’s Scottish Cup win over Dundee United last year gave him the edge on the legendary Willie Ormond, who steered Saints into third place, a 1969 League Cup final loss to Jock Stein’s all-conquering Celtic and their first ever foray into Europe.
But in the wake of the launch of an updated club history, Manifest Destiny, Brown has challenged skipper Dave Mackay and his players to pen a fresh chapter in the annals as they jostle with Hearts and Aberdeen for second spot.
Brown said: “Fans like to debate about the best ever this and that. But this club has never finished higher than third.
“So after winning the Scottish Cup last year, if this squad could take second place that would settle the argument once and for all. Tommy has a bit of harmony going. Not that I have close contact with him, but he can pull his troops together.
“He has been putting it together and we are getting the ball in the net this season. The next two games, against Celtic and Hearts, will have a major influence on whether we can think seriously about finishing second.”
Brown, who still owns the club, has enjoyed watching Wright’s free-scoring side this term.
Brown maintains none of the current crop of stars measures up to Ormond era golden boy John Connolly, the graceful striker who left for Everton but later endured a troubled spell spell as Saints manager,
“There isn’t a player in the St Johnstone team today who would be in the same class as John Connolly,” said Brown.
“He really was a fantastic footballer. John was an old-fashioned inside forward, just tremendous.
“Back then I suppose it was an era in which Murray Davidson would have thrived.
“The tackles flew in and he would have loved that environment. In general terms there probably wasn’t as much pace in teams in those days.”
Meanwhile the death of St Johnstone legend Willie Coburn will be marked by a minute’s applause before kick-off in Sunday’s clash with Celtic.
The players will wear black armbands in memory of the Saints Hall of Famer, who made more than 300 appearances for his local club during the sixties and seventies.
The 74-year-old died in hospital at the weekend and his funeral is being held at Perth Crematorium on Tuesday at 3pm