Basically things for Penman started to go wrong when he fell out with Jimmy Nicholl. Killie, Norwich, Northern Ireland all came calling when we had him but Penman was reluctant to let him leave (obviously). Nicholl got pissed off and and made the fact that they didn't get on pretty public. Because the fans all loved Jimmy, most of us supported him. Once he left, and things went tits up on the park, the knifes were out for Penman.
Personally I think he should have stuck with Jimmy Thompson. He wasn't given a fair crack of the whip. It led to the Tommy McLean and Ian Munro eras which went badly wrong!