When Gus took over Saints were on a terrible downer. John Coughlin had just been sacked, thanks to a 4-0 gubbing at home by Inerness Caley Thistle. He had won sod all games, despite having assembled an entire new squad over the previous summer. Some of those signings were questionable, Paul McKnight and Kevin Twaddle for starters. Most of us were glad he was gone, had he stayed I'm convinced we would be playing in the second division this season.
At the time Gus was Saints assistant manager with no managerial experience. With that being the same position Coughlin was in before he became manager, most of us were a little bit sceptical about him being appointed. However, seven points from a possible nine in his three caretaker games was good going. A debut win over Queen of the South followed up with a home win over Ayr United saw Saints claim their first back to back league wins in over two years. A further point away to Falkirk landed him the job. Andy Millen was his assistant.
Their continued to be improvement throughout Gus's first few months in charge. Saints managed to get into the fourth round of the Scottish Cup for the first time in ten years, and Barry Lavety even managed to score a goal. A 3-1 win at home over Queen of the South confirmed the improvement, but amazingly it was our last win for over two months.
Saints form completely stuttered, partly thanks to mistakes by Gus. Continually playing Stevie Woods despite Craig Hinchcliffe being fit, and keeping the likes of Kevin McGowne and Andy Millen in the team because they were his mates. Things were looking very, very bad on my birthday when Queen of the South beat us 1-0 at Palmerston. The unthinkable was possible, and, even worse, Morton might even pass us on our way down.
Then came the second half against Ayr when we rattled in four in fifteen minutes and we were effectively safe. The season finished on a high with wins over St. Johnstone on Raith Rovers.
We came close to being relegated, but in the end avoided it by a fair whack. The problem with last season was too many draws. An attempt to fix that was the arrival of Mixu Paatelainen, along with John Baird and Mark Reilly. However, with the likes of Robert Dunn, Lavety and Eddie Annand all leaving, it is possible that the squad was in a worse state than it was before. I wasn't confident.
Turns out that we had nothing to worry about. Saints are flying high for the first time in years, with only a few blips (a hammering at the hands of Falkirk and defeat to Queen of the South). Apart from that we're unbeaten (touch wood) and haven't lost a game in the league at Love Street since early January (touch wood). Here's hoping it continues.
One thing is for sure this season. We're definitely far, far better off than we ever were under Coughlin. We sure as hell won't be in a relegation battle this season.
Thanks Gus. Please sign a new contract soon.