Scorpionates are tripodal ligands with three electron pair donors, most commonly used are poly-substituted boron compounds which are know for their spin crossover behaviour in iron(II) complexes. The use of carbon as the central linker atom combines the associated upshift of the spin transition temperature towards room temperature with possible post-functionalisation of the ligands. Our designed system consists of a hydroxy functionalised tripodal ligand with an increased steric demand due to a methyl subsitution at the N1-position. The variation of the synthetic conditions and the stoichiometry between ligand and metal during the reaction resulted in the identification of three competing coordination patterns, identical for iron(II) and cobalt(II). All coordination compounds were isolated and characterised with regards to their magnetic, spectroscopic and structural features, as well as cyclic voltammetry measurements.