Simo Valakari aims for St Johnstone success after making long-awaited return to Scotland

New St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari says he’s spent his entire coaching career aiming for a return to Scotland, and is now aiming to build a winning team at McDiarmid Park.

Valakari was confirmed as the club’s new boss on Tuesday, becoming Craig Levein’s successor after leaving Latvian side Riga FC.

The 51-year-old says he was sold on owner Adam Webb’s vision for the future of the club, and the board’s realistic view of how to achieve success.

“I’m delighted to be here,” Valakari told STV. “I’m ready to start this new journey and adventure and I’m looking forward to it so much.

“After long and detailed talks with the owners, their ideas and the direction they wanted to take the club was very appealing.

“I just felt ‘Wow, this is exactly the type of club I want to work for’. They are dreaming big but at the same time they understand what it means to get there.

“It’s a steady process, day by day, step by step. This is exactly how I think you build a club and a successful team. You need to work every day together.”

Valakari spent three-and-a-half years as a Motherwell player from 1997 to 2000 before moving to Derby and the former Finland international says that sparked an affection for Scotland. He says he always had an eye on a return and is happy to have achieved his dream.

“I was hoping and dreaming but I was also understanding how difficult it is to get here,” he said. “There aren’t many positions available.

“When I got this job, I had been working all my career to get here. I really like the country, I like the people, I like the fans and I know the demands.”

Now he has taken on his new role in Perth, the manager says his purpose is clear and that the best way to achieve what he aspires to is straightforward.

“To win football matches,” he said. “My ambition is to prepare my team as well as I can for every football match. if I can do this then I can start dreaming of cups and top six and European places.

“Of course with the size of this club and the ambition of the owners, you need to push but you can’t substitute the daily training process that we do here.”