THERE have been more false dawns at St Mirren Park in recent times than at a French and Saunders convention.

Manager after manager has come and gone through the front door on Greenhill Road without a whiff of stability being left behind, while the feel-good factor that should have been caused by the SMISA fan take over has at times been lost in a deluge of despair at what has unfolded on the park.

Fans finally have their own men in the corridors of power at the club. Former director and property businessman Gordon Scott is the new chairman, while St Mirren hero Tony Fitzpatrick has immersed himself in the new regime as the role of chief executive.

At last though, Fitzpatrick believes now is the time for St Mirren to cleanse itself.

The arrival of Jack Ross as manager earlier in the week, a position he will take up officially on Monday, will signify the first appointment of the new management, and the club’s CEO is ready for the fresh start all who hold the Paisley club dear have craved during a tormenting few months.

“That’s exactly it,” said Fitzpatrick. “With the managerial changes and all the other stuff, it has to stop now. We need stability at the club.

“We want to put our plans in place and take things forward. To do that we’ve got to come together as a whole club.

“We will have fan ownership in a few years and we need to move forward. We’ve had boardroom upheaval, all these different manager, selling the club. The line must be and it has been drawn in the sand now.

“We need to drop the baggage of everything that’s happened and go forward now, with Jack, and look to the future.”

There were several names in the frame for the St Mirren manager’s position as the club’s board hunted for their sixth occupant in the last three years. From the fanciful in the forms of Billy Davies and Neil Warnock to the fancied Gus MacPherson, Ross emerged through his work at Alloa Athletic to prove he is the man to provide continuity and the vision for the Ladbrokes Championship side.

In fact, it was his continued integrity and loyalty when it comes to the Indodrill Stadium club that helped land him his new post. Ross was named the new St Mirren manager earlier this but he wanted to be a man of his word and return for one last time to guide them against Bala Town tomorrow.

“He’s a very bright manager,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’ve been very impressed with how he has handled everything.

“A big thing for me was his integrity. To most people the decision of allowing him to manage Alloa may have been strange, but he took the lead on that which is great.

“When we met him to give him the job he explained it was contractual but in his mind he wanted to be loyal to the chairman and his players. At that point I thought that he’d show the same loyalty to us if anything ever happened.

“Do you know what? I thought that was the mark of the man and it really impressed me. I’d like to think I’m the same kind of man with morals, and that came across from Jack really well.”

Fitzpatrick was also impressed with Ross’s grand plan for St Mirren, and added: “The new board have visions for the club and there are a lot of good things happen behind the scenes, and Jack bought into that.

“He was looking for a project like that. I know there’s been interest in him from other quarters but he’s played here and knows what we are all about. He’s excited about the future, and so are we. He’s a great fit.”