It’s never a good sign in the country’s lower divisions when the big talking point of the weekend is created by a club who aren’t even playing.
Nothing especially untoward seemed to be afoot when Raith Rovers recorded their first away win of the season by beating Queen’s Park on Friday night.
Less than 24 hours later, it emerged that the Hampden game had been Neill Collins’ last as manager of Raith, having been in charge for just 109 days.
As Falkirk remained top of the table on Saturday, and Ayr rejoined the promotion chase with a win at second-placed Livingston, the talk of the steamie was the farce in Fife.
This, you will remember, is a club that decided in August to sack their previous manager, Ian Murray, just two months after he had guided them to the Premiership play-off final.
While that in itself seemed strange, you could just about argue, as Raith did, that Murray’s football hadn’t been the best and that there were better managers out there.
Neill Collins waved goodbye to Raith Rovers after just 109 days in charge of the Kirkcaldy club
Falkirk striker Callumn Morrison scores the only goal in his team’s 1-0 victory against Hamilton
But to make that decision without an obvious succession plan, after just one game of the new league season — a 1-0 defeat by Airdrie — seemed reckless in the extreme.
It took them a month to replace him. After agreeing terms with David Healy, who then thought better of it, they gave the job to Collins, who had five successful years in charge of Tampa Bay Rowdies before a short, ill-fated spell at Barnsley.
The 41-year-old Scot was given a three-year deal, but it now transpires that a release clause was written into the contract and that his ambitions lay elsewhere.
When Sacramento Republic last week offered him a return to the US, he jumped at it.
Raith are now looking for their third manager of the campaign. Having finished second last season, they are now closer to a relegation play-off than they are to a promotion one.
And the frustration for Raith fans is that it all seems so unnecessary. When will clubs learn that the most important ingredient of success is stability off the pitch?
Even if they don’t have the best manager in the world, he will do a job if he is supported by a sensible and consistent strategy.
It’s no coincidence that the three Championship clubs who are leading the promotion race at the halfway stage of the season have either a long-term manager or a pragmatic, sustainable football department.
Since 2022, John McGlynn has rebuilt Falkirk, ended their long exile in League One and installed them as favourites for the Championship title.
A week after a surprise 5-2 defeat by Ayr, the leaders got back on track with a 1-0 victory against Hamilton. Callumn Morrison’s goal with 10 minutes left kept them five points clear.
Livingston have been gathering steam lately, with a strong squad and an astute, long-serving manager in David Martindale.
Ayr United manager Scott Brown guided his team to a narrow win over second-placed Livingston
They were edging ever closer to Falkirk until they lost at home to Ayr at the weekend.
George Oakley scored the only goal in a hard-fought win that owed a lot to Ayr’s goalkeeper, Harry Stone, who produced a stunning stoppage-time save. Scott Brown’s side, now within two points of Livingston, have won five of their last six matches.
Brown is not an experienced manager but he has a club who are getting a lot of things right, on and off the pitch.
They tend not to get ahead of themselves and you sense that he will be given every chance to succeed.
As it happens, most Championship clubs are loyal to their managers. Dougie Imrie has been three years at Morton, John Rankin two-and-a-half at Hamilton.
Rhys McCabe is having a disastrous season at rock-bottom Airdrie, but they have vowed to stand by a young manager who has been hailed as one of the most promising in the game.
Meanwhile, Raith have asked technical director John Potter and assistant manager Colin Cameron to take temporary charge, as they did during the early weeks of the season.
That will buy them time to identify and appoint a new permanent manager. The question is: who will want the job?