Latest news with #McDiarmidPark
The Courier
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Jamie Gullan vows to run himself into the ground for St Johnstone
New St Johnstone forward, Jamie Gullan, has vowed to run himself 'into the ground' for the Perth club. The 25-year-old built up a reputation as one of the hardest-working and most versatile attackers in the Championship with Raith Rovers. And, after joining Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes in agreeing a two-year deal with Saints, he's hoping McDiarmid Park boss, Simo Valakari, will take his performances to an even higher level. 'I am over the moon to be here,' said Gullan. 'As soon as the club were in touch and I had chats with the gaffer, I just wanted to get things done as quickly as possible. 'I am so excited to get back for pre-season and to meet all the players now. 'It is an exciting time to be at the club and a fresh challenge for me. 'I have spoken to the gaffer two or three times now. Every time I speak to him, I get a good feeling. 'We have discussed how I will fit in. 'I am looking forward to working under him. Hopefully he can improve me as a player and hopefully I can help improve the squad too.' Gullan added: 'I am an attacking player who will leave everything out on the pitch. 'I'll run myself into the ground every game. I want to give everything for this club. 'I know a lot about St Johnstone already as my brother-in-law is a massive supporter. 'For the past few years I have been given a weekly report on how the club is doing and he always tells me how amazing the fans are. 'I can't wait to meet and play in front of everyone at McDiarmid Park when the season gets underway.' Gullan had no fewer than five spells with Raith, three of them loans. The most recent of them was his best and Stark's Park boss, Barry Robson, had hoped to persuade him to stay. Gullan, who was in the Hearts and Hibs academies as a youth, is renowned for his free-kick goals. A hard-worker off the ball, the two-footed attacker is equally at home playing through the middle or coming in off the left. Saints have hit the ground running in the transfer market since releasing 16 players, with plenty of recruitment work still to be done.
The Courier
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Josh McPake back from 'dark place' as St Johnstone boss sets pre-season challenge
St Johnstone winger Josh McPake has dragged himself out of a 'dark place', according to his manager. But the Perth forward, who attracted no January interest when Simo Valakari made him available for a loan exit, needs to realise that the hard work is just beginning now that he has fought his way back into the McDiarmid Park first-team picture. And the 23-year-old has got a potentially career-defining pre-season ahead of him. 'It was encouraging to see Josh in the late part of the season,' said Valakari, who started McPake in every post-split Premiership match. 'He came into the team and did well. 'It wasn't rosy all the time. 'He still has a lot to learn but his performances have given him that chance. 'I have told him that this summer is the biggest of his life. 'He was in a dark place during the winter. 'Josh was a talent for Rangers who went down to League Two in Scotland, got his move here and didn't play for a long time. 'In January, nobody wanted him. 'He stayed, he worked, and he got back into the team here. 'But he can't think that he's arrived and everything is good now. No. 'He needs to remember how easily you can go back down in football. 'That's why he needs to come back fit in pre-season and hit the ground running again. 'He needs to take the things he did well in the last month of the season and become even better at them. 'He did well, but it was only five or six games and that's not a long time. 'When we get back, it's about doing it again week after week and making sure he is in our team. 'I like Josh – he is a good character, and we want to help him learn.' Valakari believes there's a maturity to McPake that comes when a footballer becomes a father. 'He told me before it was just him but now, he has a young family, so he has that extra responsibility,' said the Finn. 'It's not just him. 'He has other people to look after, and they are depending on his career. 'He said himself that the new responsibilities he has have changed things for him, he's aware how much he needs to be successful.'
The Courier
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari reveals where Taylor Steven must improve
Simo Valakari has challenged Taylor Steven to take his game to the next level after an impressive end to the Premiership season earned the youngster his first Scotland age-group call-up. The 20-year-old made 16 appearances for Saints after returning to Perth half-way through a season-long loan in Northern Ireland, starting every game of the post-split phase of the campaign. Steven's displays at left-back led to Scot Gemmill selecting him for an under-20 friendly in Slovakia on Friday night. The McDiarmid Park youth academy product acquitted himself well, staying on for the full match and setting up Bobby Wales for Scotland's goal in a 2-1 defeat. Under contract with Saints for another year, Steven will be looking to pick up where he left off when pre-season begins next week. And his club manager has identified 'end-product' as the main area in need of improvement. 'Taylor did well when he came in, playing different positions, and I was pleased for him getting the international call-up,' said Valakari. 'The summer is big for him. 'He needs to come back here ready to go. 'We had to play Taylor out of places he is comfortable. 'He came in at left-back to help the team and credit to him. 'He was getting stronger game by game. 'I could see him getting fitter and match-sharp by the end. 'There are areas of his game he needs to improve on. 'He needs to be better with his end-product when he's at the top end of the pitch. 'What we need is consistency – that basic level we need from our players every match. 'As a coach, you get excited when you see people coming through and taking steps forward. 'It's a good feeling for him and as a coaching staff it's good for us too because you like to watch players improve.'
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Simo Valakari reveals St Johnstone signing strategy
St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari, will prioritise the Scottish market as he seeks to build a squad tailor-made to win the Championship. Valakari has been assiduously studying the players who have been successful in the lower leagues and believes focusing on domestic talent in his recruitment is the best way of ensuring Saints quickly acclimatise to their new surroundings after being relegated from the top-flight. Having cleared the decks by releasing 16 members of last season's McDiarmid Park group, the Finn will embark on a summer signing spree that will push, or even reach, double figures. He will keep an open mind on the possibility of bringing in players from abroad, but course and distance performers are initially in his sights. 'We will look domestically first,' said Valakari. 'For the reason that they know this league. 'I have never watched so many videos of teams and players than I have done now. 'Because, basically, we have been following three leagues – Premiership, Championship, League One almost. 'We have a good overview of what is there and what the expectations are. 'But we are open to everything.' Valakari believes that you don't get a strong foundation for a title charge with players who will go from an eight out of 10 display one week to a four out of 10 a few days later. 'We need our basic level to be high enough that we can win games in a row,' he said. 'Promotion won't be decided by how we play against the top teams. 'It will be decided by how we play against the teams at the bottom of the league. 'You saw that with Falkirk, who didn't have a good record against Livingston. 'Dundee United were very good in that respect as well the season before. 'The big matches will take care of themselves. 'Being a team that wins a league is all about consistently high standards.' The age balance in his squad also needs to be right. 'How I want our team to be is with a mix of these young, hungry players who want to go forward with their career,' said Valakari. 'I want also these players who have experienced this league, who knows what it means through the season and exactly what you need to do. 'Because the pressure was always negative on us. We couldn't find freedom to flow and to play. 'Now there is a different pressure, but we need to enjoy that pressure. 'It's a better pressure that you are expected to win the games. 'Having this right mindset and the right characters in the team will be more important than ever.'
The Courier
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari admits mistakes and reveals how he will adapt
Simo Valakari's St Johnstone reboot will include self-reflection on his part. The Perth boss has called a spade a spade when assessing the shortcomings in his team that got relegated. And, after looking in the mirror, Valakari has been equally open about the lessons he has taken on board from his first few months as a head coach in Scotland. 'It has been a big learning experience,' the Finn, who took over from Craig Levein last autumn, admitted. 'Of course, I knew what it was like here (having played in Scotland with Motherwell). 'But it has been more difficult than I was thinking. 'The way of playing is so deep in Scottish football. 'It's so deep, the characteristics of the players. 'How big, strong, how good they are in the second balls – I have NEVER seen that anywhere else. 'I need to adapt my way of doing things, not my way of thinking so much. 'But now I know the real Scottish football. 'I have been watching a lot, following it a lot. 'But, same as the players, you need to taste it and feel it. 'You need to be on the touchline to 'get it', what it means. 'I am definitely more experienced now.' Valakari's summer signing strategy will take into account the physical demands of the Scottish game as he seeks to eradicate a McDiarmid Park 'softness' that undermined their top-flight survival fight. 'That will feed into my recruitment,' he said. 'You saw we had footballers but maybe didn't have that physical presence, especially towards the end of the season, when we were losing our big defenders. 'We were a very small team. I mean, just the physical size.' Valakari added: 'There were tactical tweaks and starting line-ups that I got wrong in some matches. 'Some in-game management could have been better on occasions as well. 'We remember the St Mirren game here when we were 2-1 up but lost 3-2. 'That was a game we needed to see out. 'But when I look back at the post-split spell of the season, we were too soft. 'We had worked hard to improve defensively and to become a more solid team. 'Then the injuries that we had at the back affected us. 'We were far too easy to score against. 'You could feel it on the touchline, the fans would have felt it and so would the players. 'There wasn't a hardness to us that you need in these important games. 'It felt as if any attack the opposition had they could score. 'We hadn't been like that. 'There are a lot of things I will reflect on and look to improve – that will include what we do to prepare for games. 'I'm hopeful that the new artificial surface will help us because we cannot waste training time. 'Unfortunately, that happened a lot during the winter last season. 'There were days when we couldn't train anywhere.'
