A retired farmer, Davie Rae became chairman of Queen of the South when Ronnie Bradford stepped down due to ill health in June 2003.
Very quickly new ideas came along that showed that the club was in a new era:- The highlight on the pitch of the Blount regime was Queens making it to the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup for the first time.
As Thomson was to say on his return over a decade later, "Things have changed quite a bit while I've been away – a new stand, a completely new set-up and a more modern type of training system".
After an injury plagued start to the season Queens recovered to finish fourth in the second tier of Scottish football.
[1] In the 2008–09 UEFA Cup second qualification round Queens were eliminated after a battling away leg against FC Nordsjælland in Denmark.