Former Motherwell, Derby and Finland midfielder Simo Valakari has been named St Johnstone’s new head coach.
The McDiarmid Park club have been searching for Craig Levein’s successor, after sacking him two weeks ago.
St Johnstone had held talks with former Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibs midfielder Scott Brown, who instead opted to sign a new deal at Ayr United.
Aberdeen assistant Peter Leven also spoke to St Johnstone, while talks broke down with Larne boss Tiernan Lynch.
The Saints then moved for Valakari – who is thought to have impressed club bosses during his initial interview – and negotiated his exit from Riga.
Valakari joined Motherwell in 1996 and spent four years at the club
Valakari, 51, took charge of Riga halfway through last season and guided the team to the Latvian Supercup, having previously won the Finnish Cup in 2021 and 2022 with KuPS, plus three trophies at SJK in Finland.
St Johnstone are 10th in the Scottish Premiership – two points clear of bottom spot – having won just one of their seven league games this season.
Andy Kirk and Alex Cleland will remain in charge of the team for this weekend’s game against Rangers at Ibrox.
Sky Sports News understands the club’s American owners were impressed with Valakari’s knowledge of the current squad and work is already under way to identify potential free agents to add to the group before January’s transfer window opens.
Valakari: I see potential in St Johnstone
After signing his deal until the summer of 2027, Valakari said: “I am very happy, very excited and very proud that St Johnstone have made me their head coach.
“We have so many opportunities to make this an exciting journey and the most important thing is that we are all in this together – the players, the staff and most importantly the fans.
“When I spoke to the owners and the football department I got really excited about this project. I looked at our team as a whole and our players. Of course, the results recently have not been as positive as we would like, but I see a lot of potential in the players that we have here.”
St Johnstone owner Adam Webb said: “Simo rose to the top after an extensive hiring process and interviews with several great candidates.
“He has a remarkable vision for the future of St Johnstone. Simo’s experience, enthusiasm and creativity will serve us well in the years ahead.”
St Johnstone’s next six games
- Rangers (h) – Scottish Premiership – October 6
- Ross County (h) – Scottish Premiership – October 19
- Dundee (a) – Scottish Premiership – October 26
- St Mirren (a) – Scottish Premiership – October 30
- Hearts (h) – Scottish Premiership – November 2
- Motherwell (a) – Scottish Premiership – November 9
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