THE murmurings yesterday morning that Tommy Craig was no longer the manager of St Mirren spread as quickly as a forest fire.

THE murmurings yesterday morning that Tommy Craig was no longer the manager of St Mirren spread as quickly as a forest fire.

In the opinion of many Buddies, they probably believe, in their opinion, it is because good news travels fast.

The appetite of a large chunk of the club's support for the 64-year-old's head has been insatiable for some time now.

The campaign 'TaxiForTommy' was launched online a few weeks ago by disgruntled punters, while pages on internet message boards clamouring for his removal have ticked well into the hundreds.

His departure was no knee-jerk reaction from the Paisley board for both parties to separate by 'mutual consent', St Mirren's form under Craig dictated it was only a matter of time before this separation, no matter how those concerned dress it up, took place. Just three wins from 19 matches in charge says it all.

He will always be held in high regard by St Mirren supporters as being part of the management team that guided them to a League Cup title two seasons ago under Danny Lennon.

However, there are many who have thought for some time that Craig's appointment as Lennon's successor was the wrong one from the very start.

Former Buddie Frank McGarvey is just one of them. The retired forward, who spent five years at Love Street during the Eighties, has watched on with a heavy heart recently as his old team dwindles down the league almost as quickly as their attendances.

Crowd's of around 2,000 have latterly turned up to see their team slump to joint-bottom of the SPFL Premiership under Craig, becoming the only side in Britain not to keep a clean sheet this season in the process.

And while McGarvey is of the belief the former Scotland Under-21 coach did all he could at St Mirren, he is clear in his view that his appointment back in May should not have been made.

Speaking to SportTimes, he said: "They made a mistake letting Danny Lennon go. He was doing an excellent job for St Mirren and I was really surprised the club decided to do what they did.

"And then to bring in someone like Tommy who wasn't really going to freshen things up didn't make sense to me. St Mirren need to stay in the Premiership and they made a mistake.

"Danny was keeping them in the league and won a cup with them, what more can a St Mirren manager do? The only person who could have done that was Superman."

McGarvey added: "My sympathy goes out to Tommy, though. He's a good guy and he's taken the brunt of this, but you must ask questions of the players here, too.

"I don't know if you can say he's done anything wrong. Tommy's given it 100% and in truth there are probably more questions than answers right now. It's a very hard decision for a board to make but I think it's the right one."

While one former under-21 coach departs, another is being lined up as his replacement.

Billy Stark has emerged as the early bookies' front-runner for the post after stepping down at the SFA last month.

And given his credentials and ties with St Mirren, McGarvey believes he would be a perfect fit.

He said: "Big Starky has a lot of experience. He's been with the Under-21s so he knows all the young players in Scotland, so he would be a good appointment.

"He has a bit of spark left in him, I think Billy would be the ideal candidate. I know he's a bit older than some others, but he's been involved in football at the highest level. If he gets offered the job I'm sure he would take it."