Quote Originally Posted by afc1903mad View Post
It may be seen as a cheap option, but I think it is a long term strategy.
Its called succession planning.
I think Sheerin was lured from Arbroath with this in mind.
I think he turned down the chance of ICT, because he expects DM and Doc to move on shortly.

Sheerin and Robson know the squad, work with them daily.
Heavily involved in match days preparing the team.
Its a lower risk than you might first think
They may have interaction with the team and match preparation as you have said, but that doesn’t automatically make them a direct fit as football managers. Okay Sheerin was manager at Arbroath, but that’s a long way off our level.

You take a risk now and it could end up setting us back years. McInnes has made us a steady club, with the expectation of 2nd place now firmly implanted in the minds of the fans. Anything other than that will be seen as unsuccessful and I see such an appointment as high risk. The ‘romance’ of promoting within and achieving success, very rarely comes to fruition. For me, now is not the time for this sort of appointment.

I wrote off Jack Ross when Sunderland were in for McInnes, stating he hadn’t proven himself and was a risk. That is still in my mind, but he has turned St Mirren right around and he would/should be in with a shout. I still see it as a tad risky, but not as much as I once did. He would be no more risky, than when we appointed McInnes, albeit the expectations of the fans is now greater than it was 4 years ago. He is actually the only one that jumps out at me just now.