Latest news with #JoshMcPake
The Courier
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Josh McPake credits St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari for career transformation
Josh McPake had no problem with St Johnstone boss describing him as a 'one trick pony'. The Perth forward knew himself that his game needed greater variety. And he believes the training ground work they put in together over the last few months will stand him in good stead for Saints' Championship campaign next season. Valakari had been reluctant to start McPake while getting the ball into his feet and cutting inside was a predictable style of play for full-backs to deal with. But after the 23-year-old added more strings to his bow, cameos off the bench became regular post-split starts. 'I agree with him,' said McPake, reflecting on his previous limitations as a winger. 'The gaffer wants me to go beyond, inside, outside, win second balls. He wants it all. 'I've realised that to play at this level you need that in your game. 'He has worked hard with me. 'I do these double movements now. 'Full-backs are thinking I want the ball to my feet, then I'll get in behind. 'We've created a lot of chances in the last few games just from that alone.' McPake added: 'The gaffer is very much: 'Next action, next action, next action'. 'When I was a teenager coming through, and still in my early 20s, I switched off a bit. 'He's instilled in me that it's always about the next action – whether that's second balls, getting up the park or running in behind. 'He's mixed up my game as well so I'm not one-dimensional. 'And he could see that I needed to be a lot better off the ball. 'It's obviously not for me to judge but I feel a better player. 'And I'd like to think my performances show that. 'The gaffer has made me a better player. 'To be a Premiership player you need a lot of aspects to your game. 'I felt that there were some of mine that weren't where they needed to be. 'The manager has helped me get them up there. 'And he's not taken away the bits that were already good. 'He's helped me a lot and I've loved this run of games. 'I know it's not gone well for the team, but it's been great, personally, to get games under my belt in the Premiership and show what I can do. 'In a way I wish the season was still going because I feel good, I feel sharp, I feel fit. 'But I've said it before many times, it's all about the team.' There will be a lot of Saints players looking for new clubs over the summer as a result of the Perth club's relegation. But McPake is under contract for another season and is determined to pick up where he left off. 'I'm looking forward to next season already,' he said. 'This is probably the best I've felt in my career. 'I feel ready for the next step. My game's in a really good place. 'It's up to me now – first to keep my fitness ticking over and then come back full speed ahead.'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Saints 'can pull off the great escape' or 'playing for their future in the Championship'?
We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 win against Ross County. Here's what some of you said: Ellie: One of the most stressful matches I have sat through as a Saints fan (especially the VAR check, one of a slim amount to go our way this season) but a well deserved win - Elliot Watt and Josh McPake were outstanding. Let's hope we can take this form through to the end of the season as our job is far from done. Jimmy: We had numerous chances to score, reason being we didn't. Could be 'match rustiness'? The chance County had, they took well and deserved it. We didn't let our heads down, we knew what we had to do. We did get lucky with the disallowed County goal. Defence frailties are still there, but I still have faith in the players we have. Hopefully, we can get a defender that's fit enough for the run in. Robin: It's always the hope that gets you! A good performance, but without someone taking these clear chances it is just prolonging the life support. It is not nice wanting Dundee to win a game, as we now need them to on Wednesday, but it's better that than being without hope. Linsey: Much better, but cant help feeling it's come too late, finally saw a bit of wing work by McPake which we are badly needing as a team. We need to actually start using all of the pitch and open up our game at home. All the players played for the badge for once, they can pull off the great escape and leave everyone else in this league scratching their heads and saying 'how on earth did those jammy farmers from Perth manage that one?' Dunc: Saints were up for the battle, but they were all mostly playing for their futures in the Championship. Not sure who should be retained, or want to go. We are gone, but if we recruit well we might not be down too long. That could though, be wishful thinking!
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Saints 'can pull off the great escape' or 'playing for their future in the Championship'?
We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 win against Ross what some of you said:Ellie: One of the most stressful matches I have sat through as a Saints fan (especially the VAR check, one of a slim amount to go our way this season) but a well deserved win - Elliot Watt and Josh McPake were outstanding. Let's hope we can take this form through to the end of the season as our job is far from We had numerous chances to score, reason being we didn't. Could be 'match rustiness'? The chance County had, they took well and deserved it. We didn't let our heads down, we knew what we had to do. We did get lucky with the disallowed County goal. Defence frailties are still there, but I still have faith in the players we have. Hopefully, we can get a defender that's fit enough for the run It's always the hope that gets you! A good performance, but without someone taking these clear chances it is just prolonging the life support. It is not nice wanting Dundee to win a game, as we now need them to on Wednesday, but it's better that than being without Much better, but cant help feeling it's come too late, finally saw a bit of wing work by McPake which we are badly needing as a team. We need to actually start using all of the pitch and open up our game at home. All the players played for the badge for once, they can pull off the great escape and leave everyone else in this league scratching their heads and saying 'how on earth did those jammy farmers from Perth manage that one?'Dunc: Saints were up for the battle, but they were all mostly playing for their futures in the Championship. Not sure who should be retained, or want to go. We are gone, but if we recruit well we might not be down too long. That could though, be wishful thinking!
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
The Review: Goodwill for Saints boss Simo Valakari will not last forever if slump continues
As St Johnstone sought in vain to pull a goal back against Kilmarnock, there was a moment at McDiarmid Park that summed up their recent struggles. Josh McPake, an outcast winger elevated to first-choice in recent weeks, was drifting inside and hoping to get a shot away when the sprinklers went off and caused the referee to halt play. It was unfortunate for the Perth club, but it was also hapless and self-inflicted, a bit like much of their increasingly forlorn efforts to avoid relegation from the Premiership. In a game that represented their best opportunity yet to grab a lifeline, Simo Valakari's side rarely threatened to prevent Killie claiming only their third away win of the season. The visitors didn't have to be great to go ahead through David Watson, double their lead through Danny Armstrong's penalty and see out the game comfortably. Not for the first time, Valakari's team showed up well in the statistics, but they are short of quality, error-prone at the back and blunt in attack. Their survival hopes hang by a fraying thread. A miraculous escape is just about possible. If they beat 11th-placed Ross County in Perth on Saturday, they will move to within three points of the Highland side with two matches left. But there is little to suggest they will beat County, never mind Hearts or Dundee after that. It will be no surprise if their relegation is mathematically confirmed this weekend. There had been high hopes in Perth that, if Saints could stay in touch by the start of the post-split schedule, they would have enough positivity under Valakari to narrow the gap. Instead, they look more limited now than they have done all season. That they are still six points behind a County team who have lost half a dozen games in a row says it all. By pitting rivals against each other, the split isn't just dramatic, it is revealing. Right now, in the games that matter most, Saints and County are being exposed as the two poorest teams in the top flight. Valakari has been popular with fans since his appointment in October. He is charismatic, he embraces the community and he plays possession-based football. The idea is to modernise the team and its identity, just as American owner Adam Webb is trying to do with the club. But right now, it isn't working. And with every passing week a few more fans are reluctantly asking if it ever will. They want Valakari to succeed, they really do, but they need something to cling to. Where there used to be a consensus that Valakari should oversee the club's much-needed reset, even if it was in the Championship, now there are concerns — about the naïveté of his playing style, his team selections and his rush to judge players who don't fit the game plan. Judging the Finn is not easy. A couple of promising runs have proved to be false dawns, but you don't beat Celtic, as Saints did less than a month ago, without having something about you. More importantly, there are underlying issues that were never going to be solved overnight. He joined a club that needed a whole new infrastructure. He inherited a hopelessly imbalanced squad. And his two strongest signings — centre-halves Bozo Mikulic and Zach Mitchell — have been lost to injury. In these last few chaotic weeks, he has had only one fit central defender. Drey Wright, his best and most versatile player, is also missing. Benji Kimpioka, a free-scoring striker early in the season, seemed to down tools in January. Valakari was appointed to transform the club as part of a root-and-branch rebuild, one that was destined to take time. Assuming it happens, relegation will be his responsibility, but it will also be the price of problems that predate his arrival. Yes, he should have made a bigger impact by now, but it is a little early yet to brand him a failure. If he doesn't hit the ground running next season — with his own players, his own pre-season and relatively forgiving opponents — it will be a different matter. Goal machine McAllister will be a big miss Rory McAllister is a striker whose name has been on so many scoresheets that you wonder why he never played at a higher level. Now ending his third spell at Peterhead, he also had stints with Montrose, Cove Rangers and Brechin City, all of which were so prolific that he is one of only three men since World War II to have scored more than 250 Scottish league goals. The others are Ally McCoist and Gordon Wallace. On Saturday night, Peterhead bade farewell to the 37-year-old who helped them win the League Two title. They also announced that he will be honoured with a testimonial in the summer. Nobody deserves one more.
The Courier
28-04-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Josh McPake: St Johnstone fringe men can help survival fight
Josh McPake believes St Johnstone's fringe men can help the Perth club in their bid to make a relegation great escape. Saints are now six points adrift of the Premiership play-off position with just four games left, having been beaten 3-2 by Motherwell at the weekend. McPake made his first league start for the McDiarmid Park side, producing two assists and an impressive all-round display wide on the left. Midfielder Elliot Watt scored Saints' second goal after coming off the bench, while youngster Taylor Steven looked the part at wing-back then full-back. 'Obviously I'd much rather we won as a team,' said McPake. 'That's far more important than looking at my own performance. 'I've been ready all season for my chance and I'm just glad that the gaffer threw me in. 'Of course, it's been disappointing not to start before this. But that's football. 'You need to be ready for your chance, whenever that might come. 'Hopefully I've shown the manager what I'm capable of for the games left. 'I've been living right, and, in training, I've made sure I've been at it every day.' The former Rangers forward added: 'Elliot scored a good goal today. 'I thought he did really well. 'Like myself, some of the other players on the fringes have been waiting for that opportunity.' McPake remains confident that Saints' fortunes will turn over the next couple of weeks, despite the fact they were punished again on Saturday for defensive lapses. 'I thought the lads kept going until the very end out there,' he said. 'We threw everything at it, but it just wasn't enough. 'We lost the two goals in quick succession and then you can't be coming out after half-time and concede like we did. 'That wasn't good enough. 'Now we've got four very, very big games coming up. 'We'll recover, train well and go again. 'We're obviously gutted about today but we're looking to win every game. 'I see what we do in training. 'I'm a great believer that if you do everything right, the way we have as a squad every day, luck will turn your way. 'We've given ourselves a mountain to climb but we've still got belief we can do it.'
