St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has expressed his sympathy for the man who will be in the opposite dugout at McDiarmid Park on Saturday, long-suffering Hearts manager Gary Locke.
The financially-stricken Edinburgh side started the season docked 15 points along with a signing embargo on bringing any new players into Tynecastle.
Club administrator Bryan Jackson of BDO has tried to persuade the game’s governing bodies to overturn that ban but without success, with Locke’s squad who have just lost Jamie Walker with a broken foot stretched to the limit.
However, Wright believes that while Locke is paying for the mistakes made in the past by the Jambos hierarchy, he does have the advantage of being able to call on a host of talented products of the club’s youth system.
The St Johnstone boss said: “I have a huge amount of sympathy for Gary. We knew this situation would probably arise.
“They have been criticised for the way the club has been run but the one thing they do have is such a good youth set-up.
“I’ve watched the Motherwell game a team who put four past us and Hearts made sure it was a close match.
“They’re in there fighting and will keep on fighting.
“The rule was put there and I wasn’t surprised they didn’t change it, but on a manager’s level, of course you have sympathy for him.
“He’s got a very young squad, a growing injury list, a points deduction and a signing ban.
“He’s inherited all these things from the previous regime, none of it is his fault and he’s the one who has to deal with it.”
Wright is better placed than most to understand what Locke is trying to deal with having experienced administration while he was boss of Northern Ireland outfit Lisburn Distillery.
However, the Saints manager admitted that the current Hearts predicament is a whole lot worse, adding: “I’ve been through administration at Lisburn Distillery so I know what it’s like.
“We were part-time and had a lot of students, so they needed the money to pay themselves through college. And the older ones relied on their football money to pay mortgages and things.
“We ended up going down to one-third wages for everyone and the league didn’t give us a signing ban.
“I remember handing out the first wage packets to everyone but the treasurer didn’t get me one because he thought I was working for free. It’s actually still not sorted yet, they have sold the ground and are waiting on paperwork to go through.
“Everyone is still waiting to hear what money they’re going to get.
“But even though that situation was really bad, it wasn’t anywhere near what Gary is having to deal with at Hearts. His situation is much worse.”
* Saints have signed Sam Bunting from Fareham Town. The goalkeeper will compete with Mark Hurst for the No 1 jersey at Under-20 level.