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The Courier
a day ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Max Kucheriavyi blasts St Johnstone in astonishing Ukraine interview as freed midfielder admits he felt lost on pitch
Freed St Johnstone midfielder Max Kucheriavyi has lashed out at the penny-pinching Saints and insisted relegation was inevitable. The Ukrainian star was released at the end of the season after five years with the Perth club following their relegation. And, in an interview in his homeland, he's lifted the lid on his chaotic final couple of years with St Johnstone. Kucheriavyi claimed he was frozen out after he refused to sign a new deal and reckoned he didn't even know which direction he was supposed to be running on the pitch at times because of a lack of communication. And the 23-year-old insisted their drop this year was always on the cards. He said: 'In my opinion, relegation this season is the result of the direction in which the club has been moving for the last two or three years. By 'club' I mean not only the playing part, but everything in general in the whole system. 'I believe that starting from scratch is the best thing for a club that needs restructuring and a change in culture. 'The club tries to save on absolutely everything, but it has always been like this during my time with the team, and unfortunately, this has led to the result that we are seeing. 'I hope that the relegation will be a springboard for a reboot and the club will be able to change this culture. 'I was always interested in a positive result for the team and in making the maximum contribution to achieving this result. 'But there was a total lack of communication with the coaching staff. I didn't feel like I was progressing and learning new things. 'Sometimes I didn't even understand the direction in which to move. In addition, the team was fighting for survival throughout the season, which also didn't help. 'At some point a dialogue began about extending the contract. To which I refused. For me, this was a key moment in my relationship with St. Johnstone, because after it, I felt that the attitude towards me changed a lot. 'There was a lot of dissatisfaction with me and criticism, both justified and unfounded, in my opinion. Over time, there was less playing time.' Kucheriavyi only played six games last season season and was completely bombed out after January. He explained: 'Even after the new head coach (Simo Valakari) arrived, I was constantly reminded that I was 'unhappy' at the club. 'I played well the entire match against Rangers where I made an assist, yet I did not play in the next match at all, 'Someone suggested the reason I played three times in January was because the club wanted to sell me, but I will not comment on that. 'You would have to ask the club why 20 players left this season. Apparently, if someone didn't want to extend their contract, the club didn't want to continue cooperating with them. 'In January, when we got new players, there were so many that I wasn't even included in training sessions with two teams. 'But overall, I don't look at my time at St Johnstone as a bad time. It was a difficult time, but it certainly wasn't a bad time. 'On the contrary, I am grateful for all the people and circumstances that happened to me during all these years in Scotland. Thanks to them, I gained a lot of experience and grew as a person and as a professional.'
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Freed star insists Premiership side's relegation was INEVITABLE as he blasts penny-pinching side
He's questioned why he didn't play after setting up a goal against Rangers Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FREED St Johnstone midfielder Max Kucheriavyi has lashed out at the penny-pinching Saints and insisted relegation was inevitable. The Ukrainian star was released at the end of the season after five years with the Perth club following their relegation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Max Kucheriavyi has blasted St Johnstone following his exit Credit: SNS 2 He struggled to get regular game time at McDiarmid Park Credit: Kenny Ramsay And, in an interview in his homeland, he's lifted the lid on his chaotic final couple of years with St Johnstone. Kucheriavyi claimed he was frozen out after he refused to sign a new deal and reckoned he didn't even know which direction he was supposed to be running on the pitch at times because of a lack of communication. And the 23-year-old insisted their drop this year was always on the cards. He said: "In my opinion, relegation this season is the result of the direction in which the club has been moving for the last two or three years. By 'club' I mean not only the playing part, but everything in general in the whole system. "I believe that starting from scratch is the best thing for a club that needs restructuring and a change in culture. "The club tries to save on absolutely everything, but it has always been like this during my time with the team, and unfortunately, this has led to the result that we are seeing. "I hope that the relegation will be a springboard for a reboot and the club will be able to change this culture. "I played in 34 games the previous season and l played in almost every game in different positions and that was good for both me as a player and the team. "I was always interested in a positive result for the team and in making the maximum contribution to achieving this result. "But there was a total lack of communication with the coaching staff. It turned out that even though I played in every game, I didn't feel like I was progressing and learning new things. St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari on loving 'crazy' club owners, his Motherwell days and run-in with a Celtic hero "Sometimes I didn't even understand the direction in which to move. In addition, the team was fighting for survival throughout the season, which also didn't help. "At some point a dialogue began about extending the contract. To which I refused. For me, this was a key moment in my relationship with St. Johnstone, because after it, I felt that the attitude towards me changed a lot. "There was a lot of dissatisfaction with me and criticism, both justified and unfounded, in my opinion. Over time, there was less playing time." Kucheriavyi only played six games during the season and was completely bombed after January. He explained: "Even after the new head coach arrived, I was constantly reminded that I was 'unhappy' at the club. "I played well the entire match against Rangers where I made an assist, yet I did not play in the next match at all. "Someone suggested the reason I played three times in January was because the club wanted to sell me, but I will not comment on that. "You would have to ask the club why 20 players left this season. "Apparently, if someone didn't want to extend their contract, the club didn't want to continue cooperating with them. "In January, when we got new players, there were so many that I wasn't even included in training sessions with two teams. "But overall, I don't look at my time at St Johnstone as a bad time. It was a difficult time, but it certainly wasn't a bad time. "On the contrary, I am grateful for all the people and circumstances that happened to me during all these years in Scotland. Thanks to them, I gained a lot of experience and grew as a person and as a professional." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
