DURING his managerial career so far, Lady Luck has deserted Jack Ross every time he has taken a team to a final.
Now, though, as the new head coach at Dundee United, he is determined to finally secure some silverware success.
The 46-year-old has come agonisingly close to doing that in the past - he missed out in the Challenge Cup Final as St Mirren boss to United in 2017, then at Sunderland he lost in the EFL Trophy Final against Portsmouth on penalties, before another defeat against Charlton in the League One play-off.
Ross experienced heartache once more in charge of Hibs in the Scottish Cup Final against St Johnstone last year.
The “final” straw came in December when just days before he was due to lead the Hibees out once again at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup against Celtic, he was sacked by the capital club.
Now, though, six months on, Ross has recharged his batteries and is determined to make his mark at Tannadice, building on last season’s success in finishing fourth in the Premiership by winning one of the major cups.
Ross, who started his playing career at Dundee, added: "You always want to give relative success to clubs. It's judged in different ways but the tangible things are trophies and I've only got one, the Championship with St Mirren.
“I've been in seven semis and won five but I have been in five finals, lost four and lost my job the week before the fifth one.
“I get asked about losing big games but semis are big games.
“I've got a really good record in semis and a crap record in finals. I want to keep getting to finals but I want to win one of them.
“Not for self-gratification but because when you are in them it's so damn sore when you lose them.”
Ross added: “The finals with Sunderland at Wembley were great occasions but oh my God they hurt. The Scottish Cup final hurt. I want to get to that stage but win it.
“I am fed up going there and not winning them and I know I am at a club where it's realistic to do that.
“It’s not easy because a lot of clubs in Scotland have that ambition and see it as a realistic opportunity.
"If I'd come in here and said, 'I am happy for United to flirt with the top six and bob around in mid-table, it wouldn't excite me, I'd rather not do the job and leave it to somebody else. If that comes back to bite me, then so be it, it just goes with the territory.”
Ross was so gutted after being axed by Hibs, he gave the final a miss.
He said: "I didn't watch it. You don't want to dwell on it too much but it was a hard one for me because I was really close to my players and staff, really close to them. So how could I not want them to be successful?
“How could I not want Martin Boyle and Ryan Porteous, Paul McGinn, Joe Newell, guys that you had formed really good working and personal relationships with because that's how I am as a manager . . . but obviously I wasn't in the best place with some other people at the club at that point.
"I listened to a podcast where Frank Lampard spoke about it because the season he was dismissed by Chelsea, they got to the Champions League final.
“He spoke about Mason Mount and other young players he had introduced. He was also a Chelsea fan, which made it even worse, and he was a bit like that - the same emotion.
“It was a horrible day in that respect, I was just glad when it was out the way to be honest. Irrespective of the result, I just wanted it done.
"I just spent time with my youngest daughter. My eldest daughter and wife were away. I never thought I'd be as bad as that but it was a tough day.”
Considering the transient nature of modern management Ross, who has a degree in economics, could have been forgiven for weighing up another career choice after what happened to him at Hibs.
However, at the moment, the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks of the job for him.
He added: "Over the last few months I've had to figure that out because at times you have to.
“I'd never keep doing it for the sake of doing it.
“If I got to the point where the other stuff outweighed what I feel are the good parts of it, I would stop doing it and do something else but for the moment that drive, hunger and wanting to be a manager is still very much there.”
