From Birmingham to West Ham – Could St Johnstone’s Wright be boss?

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With Birmingham needing a new manager and West Ham considering the future of Slaven Bilic, should both at least consider St Johnstone’s Tommy Wright?

Harry Redknapp, former manager of Birmingham City, during the Carabao Cup Second Round match against AFC Bournemouth.

Take a look at the odds from Skybet for who will replace Harry Redknapp as Birmingham City manager and Aitor Karanka leads a list of familiar names. It is a similar story for West Ham United, who’s boss Slaven Bilic is the favourite to lose his job in the Premier League next.

There seems to be a pool of coaches, from Alan Pardew to David Moyes, who despite what they may or may not have achieved in recent times will always be in the running – according to the bookmakers and the media at least.

Former manager of Crystal Palace and Newcastle, Alan Pardew arrives to work for the media ahead of the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City.

Yet once in awhile should clubs in England perhaps think a little outside of the box and look to appoint someone who will have most fans quickly typing into Google? Marco Silva at Hull City, if you will.

One such name is Tommy Wright – a surprisingly common one in football history, but this is not in reference to the Everton legend, or the former Leicester City and Leeds United winger, or indeed Nuneaton Town’s current player-manager. No, this is St Johnstone’s chief, who for the past four years has been defying the odds to achieve consistent and unprecedented success.

St. Johnstone manager Tommy Wright looks on during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match against Celtic.

Having enjoyed a decent managerial record in his native Northern Ireland, Wright was named boss at McDiarmid Park in 2013 after two years as assistant. After a sixth place finish in 2013/14, the 54-year-old has lead the Saints to three successive fourth place finishes, secured their first ever away victory in Europe and won the Scottish Cup for the club for the first time in their history.

Critics would argue that Scottish football is not as elite as the top two tiers in England, but with the Herald reporting that St Johnstone have the tenth lowest wage bill in the Scottish Premiership in 2016/17 and yet constantly overachieve, what more can Wright do to prove his worth?