New contract for manager was 'no-brainer'

This afternoon Saints manager Tommy Wright committed his future to the club after signing a contract extension keeping him at the club until May 2022.

And speaking shortly after the deal was finalised, Chairman Steve Brown spoke to the club's official website about his delight in securing his manager's services for another three-and-a-half-years.

"He's the club's most successful manager," the chairman said, "and giving Tommy an extension was a no-brainer. It gives us stability and I've always said that continuity is important with the staff and playing squad.

"Tommy and I have a good working relationship and we've done well in what is the best period in the club's long history.

"He knows the place inside out and the players know what he expects of them. For players coming into the club they can see it's a stable environment for them to play football."

The chairman believes that last season the club fell below the standards set by the manager but is confident that he has the right man in charge to continue the club's progression.

"I sat down with the manager last season and we decided that we wanted to make a few changes to the playing squad and try to reach the standards we had set in previous seasons," he said.

"I always say that success is not an entitlement - you have to earn it and there are never any guarantees. I do believe though that by working together you've got much more of a chance.

"What we have at the club is a manager with invaluable experience. Tommy has been at the club for seven years and been the manager for five-and-a-half. His knowledge and experience of the league is such an asset.

"The manager knows how to win games at this level. It can't always be pretty and he knows how to get results when it matters most."

On his relationship with the manager and their ambition for the future, the chairman says that they both share the same goal - to make St. Johnstone Football Club as successful as possible.

"Of course we've had our disagreements," said the chairman, "but it's healthy. I don't want a 'yes man' or someone who just accepts things.

"I want a manager who knocks on the door and wants to raise standards, to make improvements and try to always make things better.

"We always do what we can to support him and this summer we went out of our way to improve the playing squad and bring in a number of quality players.

"There are sacrifices to be made but that's just the way that it is. The manager knows there are things that we can do and things we can't but it won't stop him pushing and striving for more and that's a positive thing.

"We both share the ambition of making this club as successful as possible and we work hard everyday to make it happen but we know how difficult it is.

"I think the line 'punching above our weight' understates what we've achieved in recent season with our average attendances and budget compared to other clubs.

"It's been an incredible period for the football club and I look forward to working closely with Tommy over the coming years to keep the club at this level."