Simo Valakari appointed as our new head coach

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Simo Valakari as the new head coach of St Johnstone Football Club.

The 51-year-old, who has a wealth of experience in the game, leaves his role as head coach of Latvian side Riga FC to join us at McDiarmid Park on a contract until 2027.

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.”

After signing his contract, Simo 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. We want you, the fans, to engage with us as a team and we can be even more powerful together.

“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.

“That was the first thing for me, we have a potential. Now I look at the process of how we can take our team and our club forward.

“In football there is no time to waste, every minute of training counts, so I am excited to get started. I am looking forward to meeting the players and we will become strong.”

Simo also had a message for the St Johnstone fans, adding: “It is my job, along with the staff and the players, to engage the fans.

“First we need to play exciting football and show that we all care for the badge that we are playing for. Then you, the St Johnstone fans, will help us and together we can create something special.”

Simo started his coaching career in his homeland of Finland. He impressed while in charge of SJK, guiding them to top-flight promotion before later celebrating a first-ever Finnish League title for the club.

With a Finnish Cup and Finnish League Cup also secured, his next move in management was to Norwegian outfit Tromsø. He would spend three years with them.

A return to Finland was forthcoming in 2021 when Simo took hold of the reins at KuPS – and more silverware was added to his CV with back-to-back Finnish Cup triumphs.

The next step in his managerial career was a switch to Latvia with FK Auda in 2023, where he secured their best-ever league finish and also qualified the club for European competition.

His success earned a move to Riga FC in December 2023 and it did not take long for him to win the Latvian Supercup. Riga would then compete in the Europa Conference League in the summer.

As a player, Simo started his career in Finland before coming over to Scotland and playing more than 100 matches for Motherwell.

Well-versed in British football, he then spent four years with Derby County and also took his talents across to America with FC Dallas.

Simo was capped more than 30 times for the Finnish national team.

CEO Francis Smith, in conjunction with the owners, added: “We will continue to review the football department set-up and have already made a slight change with the appointment of Simo.

“Gus MacPherson will now become Head of Football Operations, Scouting and Recruitment. This will allow the head coach to focus on the football and work with Gus to identify any talent that can further enhance the department.”

Andy Kirk and Alex Cleland will remain in charge of the team for this weekend’s game against Rangers at Ibrox.