When Mark McGhee was appointed Motherwell manager in 2007, there was an air of excitement. Yes, he had a couple of failures behind him but he had a record which compared solidly with any viable candidate we could attract.
Immediately an improvement was apparent. Maurice Malpas' dismal side containing an overweight Jim Paterson, sluggish Steven McGarry and misfiring David Clarkson became Mark McGhee's third-place finishers – with the dynamic Paterson, McGarry and Clarkson starring.
The football played 2007-08 – or perhaps more accurately August-December 2007 – was nothing short of sensational. The one-touch football which brought our opening goal, and McGhee's first win at Love Street, was a sign of things to come.
McGhee, by all accounts, had John Boyle wrapped around his finger and encouraged investment. It came in superb players in the form of Stephen Hughes and Chris Porter but the other side of the column saw Clarkson and Paterson depart for fees unimaginable a few months before.
The big black stain on his record is, unsurprisingly for a Motherwell boss, his form in the cups. An exit to then top-flight Rangers is excusable, losing home ties to Hamilton, (first division) Dundee and St Mirren is not. And let's not even start on the debacle of the Nancy home leg in the UEFA Cup.
Even his critics will admit McGhee led the club through the Phil O'Donnell period with class and dignity but by summer 2008 it was going wrong. McGhee, at the height of his power, was linked to the Scotland and Celtic jobs and it seemed a matter of time until he left.
He got neither position he truly wanted and, after turning down a move to the madhouse which was Vladimir Romanov's Hearts, eventually went north to Aberdeen. A returning Gothenburg hero, no one would have begrudged the move had he not given the impression of giving up at Fir Park first; his farewell gift of Michael Fraser on a pre-contract wasn't appreciated either.
From that point, it all went wrong. His time at Pittodrie was a debacle and he lasted less than a year at Bristol Rovers. His influence on Scotland can be debated but fourth-place in Group D of Euro qualifying won't feature highly up on his CV.
McGhee was not the first and, obviously, not the last to discover the grass is not always greener away from Fir Park. We have now given him what must be his last chance to return to club management as a success – if he fails, he's probably heading for retirement.
His personality, which previously annoyed our support and others before, will not have changed. It may have mellowed with experience but should he do a job good enough to attract bigger fish by May 2017, we should not pretend he will not jump.
That is fine. We should never be scared to of losing a manager through success and if he gains the results on the pitch, those who are still harbouring resentment should wave him off with thanks.