Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Tommy Wright has been tipped to get a major management job in the near future.
On minimal resources at St Johnstone, Wright has led his team to three top six finishes and a Scottish Cup Final win.
One-time Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark takes his Kilmarnock team to face his old teammate at the weekend and says he has always rated him.
Tommy Wright arrived at St James Park in 1988 as a 25 year old and stayed for five years, also becoming number one for Northern Ireland in the process.
Affectionately known as the ‘Belfast Barman’ by supporters, the keeper made a surprise temporary return in 1999 due to injuries at St James Park.
Tommy Wright having the ‘honour’ of being in goal on the night when Ruud Gullit went barmy and chose Paul Robinson as his lone striker, leaving Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson on the bench.
A 2-1 home defeat followed and Ruud Gullit was sacked/resigned and Sir Bobby Robson arrived…
Lee Clark:
“St Johnstone are one of the teams I know more about that anybody because Tommy Wright is one of my very good friends and a team-mate (at Newcastle) for many years.
“I’ve known him since I was 16 or 17 and when he took over at Saints I’d keep an eye out for their results, even when I was working down south.
“‘I’ve worked with him as a coach too. When I was assistant manager to Glenn Roeder at Norwich we brought Tommy across to work with our goalkeepers but we always felt the goalkeeping stuff wasn’t enough for him, he wanted to be the number one.
“He progressed in the right way. He went and worked as an assistant himself with Steve Lomas at Saints and, when Steve departed, St Johnstone made the right decision in giving Tommy his opportunity.
“He has had a great career and is rightly attracting attention both sides of the border.
“Will his chance to move to a bigger club come? Absolutely. It might be somewhere down south or something up here. It will be whatever is the best choice for Tommy.
“But there is no doubt he will be on the radar for jobs as he has done a terrific job since the day he took over at Saints but everyone seems to get a bit complacent with him because they turn in great performances and results every time.
“They are a strong, powerful team that do the basics brilliantly well. A lot of matches are won on those basics. Saints just seem to get on with their work but that means they slip under people’s radar a bit. “We’re well aware though that it will be another tough test.”