STEVE WIGLEY'S first taste of Premiership management showed just what a fine line there is between success and failure.

It also showed there's nowhere to hide as a Premiership manager - whether you're decisions turn out to be great or turn out to be awful.

On Thursday, the temporary Saints boss reported that preparations for his first game in charge had gone well.

It certainly didn't seem they had in the first half of this game.

Saints were shocking - abso-lutely shocking. It ranks amongst the worst 45 minutes the club has played for many a year.

The team was ragged, disjointed and looked to lack leadership.

Players were quarrelling among themselves and Everton, a decent but not overly-inspirational team, could easily have been 5-0 up at half-time.

In fact, had they been 5-0 up, nobody could have complained that it would have been unfair.

But then Wigley made two half-time substitutions and changed the course of the game in Saints' favour.

Villain to hero in the space of 15 minutes.

In fairness to Wigley, I'm not so sure the team that started the second half wouldn't have been his preferred starting line-up.

But the new boss probably felt he had to stick with the team Gordon Strachan had been picking that had performed well, albeit without getting results.

The problem for Wigley is that it's difficult for him to do much more than tread water - it's hard to make progress.

He knows that it's not his team - it's on loan to him - and at any stage he could have to hand it back.

So his job is to keep the side ticking over.

That's why, as good as Wigley did with his changes at half-time, perhaps this game underlined the value of having a permanent boss installed sooner rather than later.

It would add direction for the players, which is something footballers need - they're generally not good at treading water.

But, for all his fears and worries, Wigley handled his first week in charge well.

One of his major fears was dealing with the press - he needn't have worried. His answers were considered, honest and he handled and conducted himself with greater aplomb than many established managers.

Indeed, you only had to look at one answer to see his character shine through.

When asked about his inspired half-time changes Wigley responded: "I also picked the team that played in the first half!"

Wayne Rooney was chief tormentor throughout, ably assisted by the huge presence of Duncan Ferguson, who is starting to look an awesome sight again.

Rooney's pace and skill frightened the Saints defence. It's hard to remember Claus Lundekvam looking so at sea - not an easy re-introduction after injury.

It was also hard to put a finger on exactly what was wrong with the first half... apart from everything. Even the mood in the crowd was strange.

There were a few anti-Hoddle protests but there was an odd air of a club lacking some sort of direction and focus - a club without a permanent manager and obvious targets for everyone to work towards.

That might have been the problem on the field, too.

Rooney pounced on Saints' anxieties to fire home the opener from 25 yards, via a flick off the leg of Michael Svensson, on seven minutes.

Duncan Ferguson flicked a header into the far corner from Kevin Kilbane's cross after 32 minutes to see Saints trailing 2-0 at half-time.

That scoreline must have been a relief to Wigley. The number of good chances Everton had in that half was unreal.

Both Rooney and Ferguson were responsibile for spurning great openings, particularly when the Scot was played in but blazed over from close range just before the break.

Wigley had to do something. So on came Fabrice Fernandes in place of Claus Lundekvam and a re-shuffle all over the pitch.

Also, there was a straight swap of James Beattie for Brett Ormerod.

In Fernandes, Saints finally had somebody able to retain the ball while Beattie added muscle to Saints' attack.

Just before the hour mark, Kevin Phillips pulled one back when he was alert to stab home during a goalmouth scramble.

But Everton looked to have the three points sealed when Rooney fired home an unstoppable shot on 78 minutes.

Saints weren't beaten however and, when referee Phil Dowd awarded a penalty after David Prutton was tripped by Tobias Linderoth - albeit probably just outside the area - Beattie slammed home.

That set-up a frantic finale and Fernandes grabbed a point with a beautiful curling shot from the right wing in the dying seconds.

In the space of two hours, Steve Wigley found out why Gordon was desperate for a break!