Scott Brown’s time at Aberdeen was short-lived and, given it was ended so prematurely, would in the final analysis have to be judged an unsuccessful one.
As someone who welcomed his arrival last summer, that comes as a big disappointment.
I would argue that for the first half of the season, even during that depressing run last Autumn, the former Scotland captain maintained his standards, but his contribution had waned of late, particularly since the departure of Stephen Glass, and the parting of the ways makes sense for both sides.
With Jim Goodwin coming in, and understandably having his own ideas about the set-up he wants, Scott was no longer getting the involvement he desired on the coaching side. The decision to apparently call time on his playing career will allow him to focus on that elsewhere and give Jim a clean slate to build his new-look Dons team.
Having in the dressing room someone who was so inextricably linked with the previous regime was never likely to work out, especially when that individual is such a dominant and forceful character.
I know that some supporters were blinkered when it came to Scott, their opinion tainted by past performances against Aberdeen. He could have done nothing to alter their stance. Others were open to be persuaded, and some were certainly won over.
All the ingredients were there, and it was a gamble worth taking.
Under other circumstances, perhaps with a more experienced manager at the helm, Brown might well have been a big hit in the north-east; he certainly has a range of positives to offer.
But the truth is, it didn’t work out and now the focus of the management has to be on repairing the damage wrought by what has been a hugely disappointing and costly experiment.
That will not be an easy task.
Jim Goodwin is well aware of the frailties in the current squad, and he has a big job on his hands. Restoring it will almost certainly take more than one transfer window, but he is initially going to have to have a very fruitful summer to give himself a fighting chance.
There were too many poor signings made by the previous management. Some didn’t hang around for long, others are still at Pittodrie and fighting for their Dons future.
There were some successes, chief among them Christian Ramirez; and the US striker and Ross McCrorie – surely the next captain – will I imagine be a big part of Jim’s plans going forward.
If Lewis Ferguson and Calvin Ramsay remain with the club, they too will be at the heart of the revamped side; Vicente Besuijen looks promising and David Bates will have a part to play if he cuts out his mad moments, but beyond that, there are places up for grabs throughout the squad.
While he would have loved to still be in the Scottish Cup, having a week off from playing might actually be of benefit to Jim Goodwin. It will have given him some time to take stock, assess what he has and what he needs, and to start to make what will be massive decisions going forward.
I fancy St Johnstone to beat the drop
After St Mirren’s deserved midweek win at Dens, it now looks certain to be a straight fight between Dundee and St Johnstone in the basement battle.
The Perth side have a one-point advantage and will hope to increase that before the split as the Dark Blues face Rangers, the Dons and Dundee United in their next three matches. Saints play Motherwell and Livingston before a trip to Celtic Park.
Then it will be the five-game sprint to decide which of the pair takes the automatic drop.
The two clubs have deployed a different approach to their struggles. St Johnstone rightly backed their double cup-winning boss Callum Davidson, while Dundee panicked and took the unpopular decision to change manager. It was a move few on the outside could understand.
Saints have the better squad, and I still cannot contemplate them in the second tier. I expect the McDiarmid Park side to prove me right in the coming weeks, and I would certainly fancy them to win through in the play-off.
