It’s tricky doing your job when there’s someone leaning over your shoulder.
Unless you are one of those folk who go to car-keys-in-the-bowl parties, having that sense of looming pressure behind you is enough to give anyone performance anxiety. And when it comes to football managers, it doesn’t matter if the figure on your shoulder isn’t actually there.
Philippe Clement is slowly getting some breathing space but he had that hanging over him a few weeks ago. The Belgian was on his major wobble and it was the name of Steven Gerrard that kept popping up among fans. The fact the former gaffer is currently coining it in on the Saudi gravy train seemed to get lost in the wash.
But Clement was having to operate with folk pining for the good old Gerrard days while openly discussing how long he would last in the gig. The ship’s been steadied in the wake of the Celtic thumping and three wins have seen the pressure eased.
But the bogey man is never far away. Clement needs a win against Hibs and a decent performance when Lyon come calling in the Europa League. See off St Johnstone before the international break and Clement can sleep easy for a few weeks at least. He’ll be up against a guy though who will now have that gnawing feeling of having someone lurking behind him.
Even if – like Gerrard – it’s perception rather than reality. Ayr boss Scott Brown knocking back St Johnstone has got some folk putting two and two together and getting 142. He’s waiting for the Hibs gig was the calculation – and it could come up soon. That’s the last thing David Gray needs right now. And that particular narrative certainly won’t come from Brown either.
If St Johnstone was a tough decision to bow out, the Easter Road gig should be a no brainer. The only way he should go there in the near future is if the men in the white coats bundle him into a van and drive him to Leith. It’s a managerial graveyard. Too many bosses have been dragged into the blender in those parts and it needs time to settle down before anyone would think about it. Gray also needs that time to prove he can buck the trend and stay in place for the long term.
Like Clement, there are positive signs for Gray. It’s been a rank start to the season at Hibs with just one win in five.
They kept a clean sheet to beat Saints last time out and earn their only league win so far. But in general the backline has been leakier than a busted old fridge – and it will be tested to the max at Ibrox.
Gray also needs to get through Ibrox and then Motherwell to get to the break with less heat. But it’s sure to be cranked up again afterwards with Dundee United and Hearts – who should have a new gaffer by then – on the horizon. Clement can keep the Gerrard talk at bay by building momentum and keep in touch with Celtic until they meet again at New Year.
Despite some excitable fans now believing the Quadruple is back on, it’s going to be a tightrope for a good few weeks. It’s the same for Gray at the other end of the M8 but both will have to keep looking over their shoulders for a while yet.