Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari reveals mindset ahead of Motherwell return and makes ‘big club’ observation

The Finn was a popular player at Fir Park.

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari claps on the sideline.
Simo Valakari has vowed to improve his players on the training ground. Image: SNS.

Simo Valakari will be all business when he makes his return to Motherwell with St Johnstone on Saturday.

The McDiarmid Park boss was a Fir Park fans’ favourite when he wore claret and amber as a player back in the late 1990s.

But the Saints head coach, who was twice linked with the manager’s job at Motherwell, will have tunnel vision with a view to taking three points back to his new football “home”.

“I don’t know how I will feel,” said Valakari. “I have not been back there since I left for Derby County.

“I heard they have levelled the pitch!

“For me, it was one of my best times as a player to play there. I loved the club.

Simo Valakari in action for Motherwell.
Simo Valakari in action for Motherwell. Image: SNS.

“I am very much looking forward to seeing the stadium again. There won’t be many people left from my time, if any. It will be totally new.

“But the only thing I am concentrating on now is how we can get the result from there.

“We saw how they played against Rangers in the semi-final. This is a tough, tough team.

“They have their specialities – set-pieces, long throw-ins, fast up top and wingers, good midfielders.

“That’s the only thing I am thinking.

“This is football business.

“This is my home now here and we go there for a result.

“It will be a fight for the 90 minutes to get a result.”

Saints focused on ending unforced errors

Valakari’s training ground priority this week has been making sure the unforced error count drops in the wake of the frustrating home defeat to Hearts.

“Look at the second goal we conceded,” he said.

“We went through that goal on Tuesday and you see it wiped out all these very good things we have done on the field.

“We played St Mirren – first half, good; Dundee, some good moments. But Hearts was the first match that we looked and felt like a big club.

“We weren’t any more St Johnstone who tries to play without much possession and almost steal points.

“Then comes this goal.

It’s like tennis. If you cut the unforced errors out, you have a much greater chance of winning,” St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari

“And that’s why we are where we are. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong at every stage of that goal.

“And at the same time Hearts showed their quality on the ball. Look back at the game and some of the moments we had, we need to be better.

“I am talking unforced errors. Opponents will put us under pressure, of course, and we will make mistakes.

“But when they are unforced, we need to cut them out and then we become a better and stronger team. That’s what we are working on.”

Beni Baningime bursts through before setting up Hearts' winning goal.
Beni Baningime bursts through before setting up Hearts’ winning goal. Image: SNS.

Valakari added: “We’re studying the moments when we can be better.

“There was a good example in the first minute when we have an opportunity to create a chance with a simple lay-off, don’t take it, lose the ball and Hearts are able to build some pressure.

“A second good example was when we were attacking, play a couple of crosses and we have a chance to keep them pinned in but give them a throw by kicking the ball straight out and they can breathe.

“It’s like tennis. If you cut the unforced errors out, you have a much greater chance of winning.”

Conversation