Thompson was probably helped by the fact that things were a little more stable behind the scenes, for the most part, than they were when McP was manager (Thommo had Howard Wilkinson to turn to). It was when JAH took over that Thommo was sacked and McP was brought in. Also, a pretty decent 25 year run under Sirrel-Warnock-Allardyce was still fresh in the memory and supporters were likely to have to been far less patient than they are now. It was an extremely difficult situation for McP to walk intio.