Can Jack Ross Spark More Scottish Coaching Success In England?

Date: 20th June 2018

Scottish managers have a rich history of dominating the English game. The likes of Bill Shankly, Sir Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson all went down south and enjoyed plenty of success and admiration.

Since Sir Alex departed from Manchester United in 2013, Scottish bosses haven’t had the same allure they once had.

That could be about to change.

Sunderland have recently suffered from successive relegations and they find themselves in League One next season.

That could have most clubs feeling depressed about their lot but things have started to look a lot brighter for The Black Cats.

Stewart Donald has headed a successful takeover bid and that’s brought some renewed optimism to the Stadium of Light.

The new Sunderland supremo has wasted no time in bringing in a new manager and his choice was young Scottish gaffer Jack Ross.

Ross had been enjoying a burgeoning reputation in Scottish football.

During his first stint as a boss, Jack would turn the fortunes around at Alloa Athletic.

He would lead The Wasps to a club record ten game winning streak. After just ten months in charge at Recreation Park, Jack Ross was headhunted by Scottish Championship side St Mirren.

At the time of his appointment, The Buddies were in the middle of a relegation battle. The new boss would start to turn things around gradually and he managed to guide them to safety.

During his side’s difficult time in Scotland’s second tier, St Mirren faced Celtic in the Scottish Cup. Brendan Rodgers’ side would eventually win 4-1 but the Celtic boss stated that Jack’s side were one of the best his invincible side had faced:

“St Mirren are at the bottom of the Championship, but they are the best team we have played domestically,”

“They are well organised.”

Ross would then turn down the chance of managing Scottish top flight side Dundee.

In his next term in charge at St Mirren Park, Jack would get even more from his squad.

They were a joy to watch and concentrated on delivering an attacking philosophy. They often played out from the back and would keep the ball on the ground. St Mirren also enjoyed a tactical fluidity whilst Ross was in charge.

St Mirren were a superbly confident side during the 2017/18 season and would soon race towards the Championship title. They would secure promotion with a few games remaining. All in all, he would end up with a 52% win ratio during his eighty games in charge of the Paisley outfit.

That achievement didn’t go unnoticed as forty-two year old Jack Ross beat Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Steve Clarke to claim the prestigious PFA Manager of the Year award.

Barnsley and Ipswich Town would interview the exciting young coach for their managerial vacancies, yet it was the Sunderland gig that grabbed his attention.

Personally, I think it’s an astute choice from both parties.

Sunderland will be getting a very ambitious manager and one that’s already enjoyed success in his relatively short career. He’s a man that get’s players believing in him, in themselves and his system. The Black Cats need someone to guide them and to bring back the confidence that they’ve been missing and Ross has a history of doing just that at both Alloa and St Mirren.

For Jack, he’s taking over a big club with vast potential. Yes they’ll be in League One next term but when you look at their recent history, the fanbase and the stadium then you’ll see a club that’s more suited to the English Premier League.

They’ve seem to have a good amount of decent youngsters within the squad and there should be money to spend, as the more experienced players that failed them in previous years will jump ship as soon as clubs in higher leagues come calling.

If Ross can work his magic and get the players that he wants, then I’d be very optimistic if I were a Black Cats supporter and they should enjoy the style of football on offer too.

Let’s hope that Jack Ross can become Scotland’s next top manager to take English football by storm!

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