Hello, Saints fan here and this is my first post! good to be here.
First up, of course McInnes is a gamble. He's not proven in the championship, or outside the SPL - which isn't a great league by any stretch of the imagination. That shouldn't rule him out though, there are lots of managerial appointments that have been 'risky' for the same reasons. Sir Alex moved to Man U from Aberdeen! Of course Aberdeen had won a european trophy but it was still a massive step up. Modern day, look at Coyle to Burnley/Bolton (this seasons start is an aberration - look how many tough games they've had), Moyes to Everton etc. These risks can pay off if the managers are backed well by fans and a supportive board.
McInnes has been great for St Johnstone, and our last great manager Owen Coyle has been a success at Premiership and Championship level. McInnes is a great motivator, a great man manager (nothing but positive words coming out from players, Sandaza going out of his way to praise him), a very good tactician capable of changing things when things get tough. Furthermore he is exceptionally good at identifying weaknesses in a team, moving swiftly in the transfer market and strenghening a squad with a minimum of fuss. We didn't score much last year, and the difference this year since Sheridan and Sandaza came in is that we've gone from looking at midtable as a great achievement to looking at getting into Europe if we can keep playing as well as we are.
And Derek McInnes is a big part of that but I know that I want to see him succeed down south, and he definitely will. Don't write him off at all!
