Terry Butcher’s decision to stay is good for Scottish football

What a boost for Scottish football!

Not the proposals about League reconstruction, but the news that someone actually wants to stay north of the border.

We’ve had Rangers wanting to leave for England and players making their move to Championship clubs.

Meanwhile, Terry Butcher decided he would rather stay in the Highlands with Inverness Caledonian Thistle than take over as Barnsley boss.

And we also had Steve Lomas sticking with St Johnstone after being linked with Doncaster Rovers.

Isn’t that refreshing?

Here we have a man who’s made a decision that places quality of life over cash.

Maybe that’s something that’s not emphasised enough when we’re talking about Scottish football.

I know, having chatted to Terry, that he absolutely loves the Highlands.

He enjoys working at the club and has been a rip-roaring success there.

Terry is a colourful character and every League needs people like him.

I don’t want to upset the good people of Barnsley or Doncaster, but maybe these guys take the view that they live in a nicer part of the world.

Of course, the decision might have been a lot more difficult if a Premier League club had come knocking.

At present, though, you’d have to say that Barnsley and Doncaster aren’t really bigger than Inverness or St Johnstone.

Let me tell you about Terry.

I’ve known him since he was a naive teenager from Lowestoft when we both grew up at Ipswich Town.

When I first knew him, he wouldn’t have said boo to a goose.

But he developed into a wonderfully powerful central defender and a great leader.

Those leadership qualities have stood him in good stead and made him a success as a manager in Scotland.

People will wonder if there’s still time for him to do a really big job, especially after his spells at Coventry and Sunderland weren’t a success.

I think he can take charge at one of the big boys, but it has to be the right type of club with the right chairman.

Terry, I believe, is a great man manager.

He’s an Alex Ferguson or Harry Redknapp type of boss a man’s man.

I know he’d eventually like to settle back in England but, for the moment, he has unfinished business in Scotland.

Whoever you support, you should raise a glass to that.