St Johnstone couldn’t wish for a “better leader” to bring long-term success to McDiarmid Park than Simo Valakari, according to owner, Adam Webb.
The American lawyer’s first trip to Scotland since his cancer all-clear has cemented a conviction that he hired the perfect man to deliver his own vision for the Perth club.
Webb has witnessed close-up Valakari’s “laser focus” in the January transfer window, his ability to inspire on and off the field and his embodiment of the values and attributes he wants in a head coach.
Even if Saints get relegated to the Championship in May, the majority shareholder is confident that it would be a case of one step back to take many steps forward.
“Simo is an open book, like I hope I am,” said Webb.
“He tells you what he thinks – about players and about where he wants us to go as a club.
“His enthusiasm is infectious.
“He’s the main paragon of where we want to be as a club because he’s a natural leader.
“He’s an optimist and he’s an empathetic person – the response to him both around the club and in the community has been incredible.
“He is a people person and a beautiful man, so I’m certain he was the right pick and that we have a long future together.
“He has far exceeded expectations in terms of leading the club for us. He’s put himself front and centre.
“He’s been more of a leader and a better leader than I could have anticipated.
“Do we see him as the manager for the long-term? Absolutely.
“We will benefit from his attitude and experience.
“We are seeing that in this window with his laser focus on what he wants to do, his connections in the game and his relationship with people.
“Without cursing him, Simo is going to be our manager for a long time and I think we’re going to do a lot of good things together.”
Sacking cycle
There have been four Saints managers in less than two years.
And Webb wants the sacking and hiring cycle to end.
“We’re not going to rise and fall with results because they can be fickle and there are a lot of variables,” he said.
“There is also luck involved at times.
“We like what we see from Simo, so we’ll be sticking with it.
“We like what he wants to do on the pitch, we like what we see in his training, and we like what we see from him off the pitch, the way he’s made an impact in the community.
“Obviously, results to date haven’t been what we wanted, but we are looking at the big picture and we believe things are going in the right direction under him.
“It’s a horrible cycle. You see clubs having 10 managers in nine years.
“It’s never a good thing for a club.
“Obviously there are times you have to fire a coach – it’s never nice when that has to happen.
“Stability is crucial for success in football long-term and that’s what we’re aiming for now.”
Benefits of stepping back
Webb’s health battle so soon after buying St Johnstone from Geoff Brown forced him to delegate far more than would have been his intention.
There has been a plus side to that shifting of authority.
“I wish I was more methodical, but my natural tendency is to plough forward and make change happen,” he said.
“But with my health issue I was forced to take a step back and not be actively involved for a while.
“I think that may have been helpful because I have had time to look at things, then formulate some ideas.
“We want to change this organisation over time, bring in new roles and change other people’s roles.
“We want to make changes that are warranted, not just change for the sake of it.
“After the transfer window closes, we will sit down and consider how our process worked.
“It’s Simo’s first window and I think we’ve done well so far. But let’s see how it finishes.
“After that we will adjust accordingly.
“The elephant in the room, obviously, is what league we’re going to be in.
“If we’re still in the Premiership then we can afford to do more dynamic changes but if we’re in the Championship, then changes will be made but they will be different in nature.
“We would have to belt-tighten but also still look to improve – that will be the challenge we’ll set ourselves.
“God forbid we have to do that, but we have be realistic about it as well.”
Webb added: “The last intense thing I did was the coach search and I was glad to be able to play a role in that.
“After that was finished, I took a step back and it was nerve-wracking at times because we had only just come into the club.
“But the people at the club, our CEO, the staff and the board members, stepped up to fill the void.
“One good thing to come out of it is we’ve had people step up and take on roles which they’ll now keep doing.
“I’m just looking forward to being back and being ready to play my part.”
A special weekend
Saturday’s victory over Motherwell, and the nature of it, gave Webb memories to cherish.
“It was a day I will always remember,” he said. “The embrace from the fans – literally and figuratively – was wonderful.
“To see so many folks, to have the welcome back to the park, then to have that result and that outpouring of jubilation among the fans was really thrilling.
“For me, I went home that evening and looked out on the old bridge across the River Tay. And it was blue and white. I was blown away. It was so beautiful. They do it for a Saints win.
“I had heard about it but I hadn’t seen it. I took a photo – it was stunning and I sent it across to all the other guys involved.
“Everyone was ecstatic to see it and to know we have got the city behind us which is great.”
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