And MacLean's appointment as a coach on Davidson's backroom team in 2020 came a year after May's return to Perth.

"I know him better than most, he's intense, knows what he wants," May said of MacLean, who is 10 years his senior.

"I know what he brought as a player and I'm sure he can do that with the management side.

"We need to give everything we can for the club and we're all ready to do that for Macca.

"We need to find a way to pick up points. There's no doubt the quality is there, so it's all on us to give enough and cut out the mistakes."

Davidson was dismissed on Sunday, with Saints just four points clear of the relegation play-off place after a wretched run of just two wins from the past 15 league outings.

Without a home win since early November, the Perth club host Hibernian on Saturday, with the visitors in need of victory to ensure their place in the top six.

On Davidson's exit, May said: "We're gutted. It's not like we didn't try to do more. It's just the way it went and we feel like we've let the manager down with our performances and not picking up enough points.

"Sometimes you just go on these runs in football and it's hard to explain why. I've had it the other way when you're winning games and everything you touch is going in and it's all positive. This is the opposite of that.

"We're not looking too far ahead. We've all been at clubs where there's been a change of managers for different reasons.

"We can't dwell on it now, with a lot of important games to come. We need to put that at the back of our minds and just focus on what's in front of us."