Simo Valakari on St Mirren's Strong Start
St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari believes St Mirren are quietly putting together something serious – and he’s in no doubt about the scale of the task facing his side.
Craig McLeish’s team opened their Premiership campaign with a statement win, a 2-0 victory over last season’s surprise package Falkirk. It wasn’t flashy, but it was ruthless. It followed a sharp League Cup group stage in which St Mirren won three of their four games, rattled in 12 goals and eased into the next round as holders who look in no mood to hand their trophy back.
Valakari has been paying close attention.
“I’ve been very impressed,” he said, reflecting on a club that only just clung on to their Premiership status last season via the play-offs. That escape, he feels, has hardened them. St Mirren have used the summer, he argues, not to lick their wounds but to rebuild their game.
“They had a very difficult last season. They survived through the play-offs. They have been able to work on their game. I can see what they try to do.”
The recruitment has caught his eye. New faces, yes, but not at the expense of the club’s edge.
“They brought in good footballers but they still have this, how would you call it, the old DNA of St Mirren, that they are very, very tough. They really want to bully you.”
That blend of steel and structure, backed by Premiership know-how, is why he believes they are being underestimated.
“They have Premiership experience there, but the biggest thing is, no one expected anything from them and that's why they're going a little bit under the radar.”
Valakari insists he’s not among those looking the other way. As St Johnstone return to the top flight at the first attempt after relegation, he has tracked St Mirren’s evolution closely, poring over pre-season and competitive outings alike.
“I have been watching them all the time. I've seen what they're doing in the pre-season games, there's a clear identity what they want to do and good example was the first [league] game.”
That opener at Falkirk told him plenty. A tricky surface, a hostile stadium, and a club riding the wave of last season’s overachievement. St Mirren handled it.
“They went to Falkirk, not an easy place to go, the surface, the stadium, no away matches in this league are easy.
“They went there and they played a very solid game. They were able to, in the right moments, hold the ball, in the right moments they were very vertical with dangerous running behind.”
Control when needed. Direct, incisive running when the gaps appeared. For Valakari, it was exactly what he expected from a side that now senses an opening in this Premiership season.
“That's what I expected from them and they see this opportunity now as, 'we won the first match, now we play home' so they are building up the momentum there and that's why I said it's a tough challenge for us, but it's an exciting challenge for us.”
Under the radar or not, St Mirren are already shaping up as a measure of where St Johnstone’s returning side really stand.
