Ian Cathro has made a perfect start as manager of Saint-Etienne, guiding the French club to three wins from three matches, including a 4-0 win over Grenoble last Saturday that left them top of the Ligue 2 table having scored 10 goals in those games.
The Scottish coach was back on home soil last month when Saint-Etienne played Rangers in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox, a match Rangers won 2-1 thanks to penalties from Lawrence Shankland and Thelo Aasgaard. Reporters at the ground asked Saint-Etienne media staff whether Cathro would give a short interview. The answer was a blunt "No."
The refusal was perhaps unsurprising. Cathro, who left Portuguese side Estoril for Saint-Etienne earlier this summer, had already given a revealing interview to Coaches' Voice, a platform specialising in long-form conversations with managers, explaining why he has little affection for the game in his home country.
"As we all know, life is made up of decisions," Cathro said. "In December 2016, after leaving Newcastle, I chose Hearts in Scotland as my next professional destination. In theory, it was my first opportunity as a head coach. However, I don't see it that way, as it turned out to be the wrong decision."
He added: "Scottish football is very peculiar. For the very same reasons that led me to tell my parents years earlier that I wanted to leave, I shouldn't have returned to Scotland. I am referring to the mindset of the people who run football in my country, and the working conditions they offer to professionals in the game."
"In any case, the seven months I spent at Hearts helped prepare me for whatever might happen in my professional career," he said. "You have to be grateful when an experience shows you what you don't want for yourself."
A troubled spell at Tynecastle
Cathro was appointed Hearts head coach in December 2016 at the age of 30, sitting alongside owner Ann Budge as he was unveiled, a bold move given he was younger than several of the players under his command.
Things unravelled quickly. Cathro struggled with presence and authority, and his interviews often drew criticism. After a 1-1 draw away to Championship side Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup, he stumbled through an answer that still circulates on social media: "No, it's okay. I mean, it's the situation... aye... how is it difficult? What's difficult? We've just got to beat them again."
Weeks later, following a 5-0 defeat to Celtic, he said: "Take away the goalposts and we are able to compete," a remark widely mocked at the time in reference to his view that Hearts lacked only a goalscorer.
There were also suggestions that Craig Levein, Hearts' director of football at the time, was passing notes down from the stand and undermining him. Cathro lasted seven months before the club cut ties.
Rebuilding a career abroad
Rather than that spell ending his coaching career, Cathro rebuilt it overseas. He worked as an assistant to Nuno Espirito Santo at Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing a key role in the club's rise from the Championship to reaching the Europa League after winning promotion to the Premier League.
He followed Nuno to Tottenham Hotspur and then to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, before taking charge in his own right at Estoril in Portugal in 2024. His work there impressed Saint-Etienne, one of French football's most storied clubs, who hired him this summer to help revive their fortunes after relegation to Ligue 2 a couple of seasons ago.
At 40, Cathro speaks multiple languages and has a reputation for developing young talent. With Saint-Etienne top of the table after three straight wins, he now has the chance to build on that reputation at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
His comments on Scottish football suggest he has no intention of returning to work in the country. With the Scottish Football Association keen to address its coaching pathways, his career since leaving Hearts stands as a case of a young coach who struggled at home but has continued to make his mark abroad.
