St Johnstone

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

"If you're going to cross the line, just don't come."

That's the message from St Johnstone owner Adam Webb.

In the wake of Stuart Kettlewell's exit at Motherwell - following back-to-back defeats in Perth - Webb was asked how football should handle abuse from fans.

"There's a fine line between passionate fandom and undue abuse," Webb said. "And I understand the passion of being a fan. I've been a fan of clubs and teams all my life.

"Obviously, when you're angry, you want to take it out on somebody. In the age of social media, it's more easy than ever to go a little bit over the top. You're sitting in your living room on your couch and you can type anything you want.

"That can be very offensive and over the top. I think it's a question of personal responsibility for all of us."

What is the club's responsibility, though, Webb said "transparency is key".

"It's to always be transparent, always be communicating," he added. "I believe that if they know if the fans know you're doing everything you can, then they're less likely to get so over the top in their anger.

"And that's my vow to our fans.

"We've done everything we can do and we will be doing everything we can do. I'm open to their suggestions. I get emails every day from fans. I got several this morning that I was reviewing before coming over here, and we always take their ideas. We always consider their ideas and we always weigh everything accordingly. That's all we can do.

"We can't stop idiots from doing dumb things. If you're going to cross the line, we say you're not allowed to come, whether it be for a season or a few games or whatever the punishment may be.

"They have to understand there are repercussions when they take it too far."

St Johnstone have accepted a third bid from Fulham for 16-year-old forward Brodie Dair and will receive an initial transfer fee of more than £150,000 should he agree personal terms and pass a medical. (Courier - subscription), external

Saints face anxious wait to get new defender signing Daniels Balodis a work permit in time to face Scottish Premiership opponents St Mirren on Saturday. (Courier- subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Image source, St Johnstone

St Johnstone have signed Latvian defender Daniels Balodis on a deal until summer 2026.

The 26-year-old has made 15 appearances for his national side and has most recently played with Latvian champions RFS.

Speaking to club media, he said: "I can't wait to see and meet all of the fans at the stadium. It will be a lovely moment to all be together.

"I have seen the football atmosphere in Scotland and I'm looking forward to playing in this league.

"Firstly, I am a defender who wants to defend. After that I like to help the team build forward up the pitch."

"The head coach [Simo Valakari] can bring the best out in me. I remember him from before in Latvia, his tactics and how he likes to manage his team.

"He called me and said the words that I wanted to hear. He was excited to get me here, so I didn't think much about it and was happy to agree."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone owner Adam Webb has sat down with BBC Scotland for a wide-ranging interview.

Here are the key points:

• Webb, who revealed last September he was being treated for cancer of the head and neck, says he is now cancer free and that coming through the scare has given him "maybe not a new lease on life, but a new perspective".

• He adds: "For me personally right now, to be back in Perth is remarkable. It's fantastic. It's a dream come true."

• A "clunky" recruitment process led to the appointment of Simo Valakari: "We interviewed numerous candidates. And at the end of the day, there was a coalescing around Simo as the best choice."

• On Valakari's tenure so far: "I can't be happier with Simo. I know the results haven't been there, but anyone who's watching the football knows he's doing the right things to get us to the right place."

• Webb remains optimistic about Saints staying in the Premiership but work has begun to put plans in place should they be relegated: "We would be certainly competitive in the Championship. That's the obligation we have."

• He says Scottish football should "not be parochial" and more can be achieved thanks to its "unique characters", adding: "Let's not be regional. Let's let the Scottish league grow."

• Webb believes Scottish football can learn from the NFL on making the product the best it can be and that investment from outside Scotland will help global awareness of our game.

• "A real, true football fan in America or elsewhere is going to be fascinated by the Scottish league," he says.

• Positive progress is being made in attempts to have the alcohol ban in Scottish stadia lifted: "That's how the rugby fans can do it, and there's no difference whatsoever. Obviously with a couple of exceptions... but when St Johnstone play Ross County, I should be able to have a beer in my seat."

Sam Miller
Fan writer

Two late goals and three points. This is why we love football.

If the players can use this as a springboard, there is absolutely no reason we can't go to Paisley on Sunday and get another positive result.

Although you can only worry about your own results, it's difficult not to look at teams above us and with Ross County away to Rangers this weekend, it could be a great opportunity to shrink that gap further.

With only one survivor from the league opener against Aberdeen, Drey Wright, Simo Valakari is finally getting his stamp on the team.

It's amazing that a man who has won two league titles and two cups knows what he's doing. I've never doubted him for a second.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

St Johnstone have turned down a second offer of more than £100,000 from Fulham for 16-year-old forward Brodie Dair, who impressed the London club on trial, and the Perth club expect a further offer. (Courier subscription), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Watch highlights of Motherwell's 2-1 loss to St Johnstone, which proved to be Stuart Kettelwell's final game in charge of the Steelmen before he resigned over fan abuse.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Sven Sprangler: A big player for Saints who demonstrated his importance by playing out of position in a cobbled-together defence.

Watch Sportscene analysis of St Johnstone's 2-1 win against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

St Johnstone's transfer fund could be boosted by the sale of three first-team players, with Andre Raymond joining Jack Sanders and Benji Kimpioka on the list of those likely to leave. (The Courier)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 win against Motherwell.

Here's what some of you said:

Archie: Disjointed first half due to changes in defence and midfield. Changes made at half-time allowed a more coherent approach and real goal threat. Good substitutions ensured momentum increased and we got a deserved win for all the effort and commitment shown by the team.

Perry: The lads dug deep and never gave up, the opposition's time wasting and diving was next level. We may still go down but with two games to play against most of the bottom six, then there is still a minute chance of the great escape.

Simon: We were poor in the first half. Simo Valakari made some very important substitutions in the second half and we gained strength. We are slowly beginning to look like a team after the shambolic management prior to Valakari. A massive game against Kilmarnock in a few weeks, but a game we should approach with confidence.

Les: Brilliant three points and thoroughly deserved. Second half was so much better from us. Nicky Clark was superb when he came on and all the players deserve great credit for not giving up. Now a huge game at Paisley to come. If we can cut the gap more with Killie next then it really is game on.

Sandy: Great, absolutely needed three points and a win. Not the intensity of last week and not helped by having a midfielder acting as a centre-back and giving away a soft penalty. But the resilience was there, not only in defence, but in keeping going.

Tam: Great win and a real feeling of unity amongst the players at the end. You could see it in the celebrations. It's a mammoth task to stay up still but the squad is shaping up well for next season. Simo is working wonders with the squad he inherited from Craig Levein.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at McDiarmid Park

Image source, SNS

Bozo Mikulic was the hero for St Johnstone on Saturday. Just don't tell him that.

The towering defender produced a finish many strikers would be chuffed with to clinch a potentially pivotal win for the Perth Saints.

Two minutes after Taylor Steven grabbed his first goal for the club, the 27-year-old matched the youngster's feat to cap an incredible turnaround against Motherwell.

Though his team-mates all followed and celebrated with him, the Croat was quick to play down his role and said post-match: "we're all heroes".

"I'm not a hero, all guys are heroes, so we are here together on the pitch, 11 players plus the bench and the whole stadium supporting us for 90 minutes and I'm happy just about to win," he told BBC Scotland.

"I hope it's not the last goal, I want to be even more dangerous in the opponents box, so I will improve that, that I'm more dangerous, that I score maybe even more goals."

Despite the seismic win, Mikulic insists no-one at the club is getting too ahead of themselves.

"It was nice, it was good, but we know that still we are bottom of the table, so we need to keep working hard and we will never give up and we hope in the end that we will achieve our goals," he added.

"I think we have 15 or 14 more games, so of course we still believe that we can stay in the league."

As the race for survival continues, though, will the big defender be offering his services up top?

"If needed, yeah, why not? But of course I'm a defender, I need to defend my goal and I'm the same happy when we don't concede goals, so that's my job."

Image source, SNS

• Motherwell have failed to win in their last three games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 20 December 2024 to 2 January 2025, a run of four games.

• St Johnstone have won after conceding the opening goal in the Premiership for the first time since 26 October 2024 against Dundee (eight games without a win).

• Motherwell have lost after scoring the opening goal in the Premiership for the first time since 25 February 2024 against Celtic (13 games without defeat).

• St Johnstone have won after trailing at half time in the Premiership for the first time since 26 October 2024 against Dundee (seven games without a win after trailing at half time).

• St Johnstone have won after trailing at half time at home in the Premiership for the first time since 23 September 2017 against Hamilton Academical (44 games without a win after trailing at half time).

• St Johnstone have scored in their last four games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of four games from 7 December 2024 to 26 December 2024.

• Motherwell have lost after leading at half time in the Premiership for the first time since 25 February 2024 against Celtic (11 games without defeat after leading at half time).

• Motherwell have lost an away game after leading at half time in the Premiership for the first time since 27 August 2022 against Kilmarnock (10 games without defeat).

Goals on 86 and 88 minutes ensured a dramatic and potentially priceless victory for bottom-side St Johnstone as they ended a nine-game winless run in the Scottish Premiership against Motherwell.

Bozo Mikulic brilliantly smashed in the winner two minutes after youngster Taylor Steven slotted in a well-deserved equaliser for Simo Valakari's side who have narrowed the gap on eleventh-placed Kilmarnock to seven points.

After defeating the Steelmen in the Scottish Cup last week, it appeared as though their Premiership pain was going to continue after conceding a penalty inside the opening 30 seconds.

It was minute four by the time Andy Halliday tucked away the spot-kick after Kevin Clancy went to the monitor to spot home captain Sven Sprangler's handball at a bouncing ball in the box.

However, Stuart Kettlewell's side couldn't kick on as the manager watched on from the stands as he served the first of a two-match suspension due to an accumulation of bookings.

As time ticked on in a freezing Perth, it was Valakari's side who searched for much-needed and much-deserved points and goals and both came in remarkable fashion.

Saints fans, were you at McDiarmid Park or following the action from home? Either way we want to know what you made of St Johnstone's performance.

Have your say, external

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Throughout this testing spell, Simo Valakari has never questioned his side's desire and determination to get out of this hole.

Despite getting off to the worst possible start, never once did they look down and out.

Even after conceding their 23rd first-half goal in 24 league games, they entered the break with belief.

In the second, they were the only side seriously in the hunt. It would have been a tough pill to swallow if they didn't get a point.

Ellery Balcombe twice denied Saints superbly, while Nicky Clark squandered a one-vs-one and Mackenzie Kirk crashed a header off the woodwork.

The roar at both goals, and the full-time whistle, was deafening and delightful for a support who have been through the ringer of late.

They're far from out the mire, but, they have back-to-back wins to build on.

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "We needed this. We needed these three points to try and climb the table.

"The game started as bad as it could, we tried to build some momentum and in the first 10 seconds boom penalty, gone. I felt we were in a match and we just needed the one goal. In the end, I am very happy for the players, the club, and the fans. It was three points, we needed it and the work continues.

"Let's say we would have lost this match 1-0, I would stand there and say we played an ok game. We needed the goals to show for it. I never doubted the desire of the players or the club and we showed it today.

"I have been talking a lot about the small margins and we saw those small margins today. We managed to turn it around, nothing has changed we need to concentrate on the football, keep believing and playing football.

"All the players today wanted to play and make a difference."

Image source, SNS

Simo Valakari is hoping the paperwork for Jonathan Svedberg's move to St Johnstone squad is completed in time for the Swedish midfielder to play.

Defender Daniels Balodis - having left Latvian side FK RFS - will have to wait for his move to be sealed. Cammy MacPherson (hip) is working his way back but Uche Ikpeazu (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) remain sidelined.

Motherwell could hand debuts to Ellery Balcombe and Luke Armstrong, while Liam Gordon and Harry Paton will be assessed.

Jack Vale begins a two-match ban while Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (calf), Lennon Miller, Steve Seddon (both ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Aston Oxborough (thumb) and Zach Robinson (Achilles) remain out along with Jair Tavares.

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Jason Holt hopes the lessons he learned from Livingston's doomed relegation fight last season can help St Johnstone's survival bid.

With 15 games remaining the Perth side have a nine-point deficit on second-bottom Hearts and haven't won in nine league games.

As he looked ahead to Saturday's visit of Motherwell, midfielder Holt said: "We need to try and nip it in the bud because the longer it goes on, like I found last year, the more difficult it becomes to get out of the situation you're in.

"It can definitely start to weigh you down the longer it goes on.

"We need to make sure it doesn't go on as long as I experienced last year because ultimately it won't end well.

"We're in control of that, we've still got time on our side but we need to make sure we act quick."

Holt, 31, wants Saints to use last weekend's Scottish Cup fourth-round win over Motherwell as the catalyst for a positive run.

"The cup game gives us a platform," he added. "It's one win in the cup, we're not getting carried away, but if we can take the positives from that and take it to this weekend, hopefully we can start building a bit of momentum which will help us climb up the league."

Image source, Getty Images

Swedish midfielder Jonathan Svedberg is looking forward to the higher "intensity" of Scottish football after signing for St Johnstone following his departure from Halmstads.

The 25-year-old, who has agreed a contract until summer 2026, spent nine years with the Swedish top-flight club but was out of contract at the end of the 2024 season.

Svedberg made 35 appearances, all but two of them starts, as Halmstads finished 12th of 16 teams in the Allsvenskan.

"It has been a good journey for me, but I felt like I needed something else and an adventure," he told Saints' website. "I think Scotland is perfect for that.

"It is different moving here all by myself, but this will help me grow more as a person."

In addition to helping Halmstads avoid relegation last year, former youth international Svedberg twice helped them win promotion to the top flight and will now hope he can help Saints move off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

He described McDiarmid Park as a "very nice" stadium and added: "It is a good league, the intensity is higher and I think it will suit me. I feel I can bring a lot of experience. I have been playing high-level football for a long time now.

"I am physical, go into duels and will be strong, but I like to be in control of positions too. The head coach wants to have control of games and I like this football philosophy."

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• While St Johnstone knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup last week, they have lost both of their league meetings with the Steelmen this season (both 2-1), last losing three in a row against them in the top flight in April 2012.

• Motherwell are unbeaten in five league visits to St Johnstone (W2 D3), and could win successive such trips for the first time since November 2012 under Stuart McCall.

• St Johnstone are winless in nine league games (D2 L7), last going 10 without victory in January 2022 under Callum Davidson.

• Motherwell have won just one of their past seven away league outings (D1 L5), a 1-0 victory at St Mirren in December. The Steelmen have scored just four goals (and never more than once in a game) in this spell.

• St Johnstone's Benjamin Kimpioka has attempted more dribbles (85) than any other player in the Scottish Premiership, with 42 of his take-ons coming following a ball carry, also a league high.

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has no doubts that bids will come in for Benjamin Kimpioka before the transfer window closes, with interest in the 24-year-old forward, who is out of contract in the summer, from at least two clubs in Europe, as well as in Israel. (The Courier), external

St Johnstone signing target Daniels Balodis will not need to go before the Scottish FA eligibility panel because the 26-year-old centre-back, currently with RFS, is an established Latvian international and joins Swedish midfielder Jonathan Svedberg in awaiting a work permit. (The Courier), external

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has left the door open for a second bid to sign Roman Eremenko this summer after the SFA eligibility panel rejected the transfer because of the league the 37-year-old was playing in and his low salary with Gnistan in Finland. (The Courier), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari admits the pressure of a relegation battle is weighing heavily on his players.

Valakari's side are nine points adrift of second-bottom Hearts having only won four of their 23 matches this season.

The Perth side's 1-0 Scottish Cup fourth-round win over Motherwell last week was their first victory in 10 games and they host the Steelmen again this Saturday on league business.

"I've said it all the time, but we have put ourselves in that position," Valakari said.

"So it's our choice now, either we give up, this is too difficult, this is too heavy, too much pressure, or we take it as a challenge.

"We are here, and we need to get out of this. I want to see, we want to see, as a team, a club, the positives.

"I would not stay up for the challenge if I did not feel I have my players up for the challenge. I would not stay up for the challenge if I feel the club was not up for the challenge.

"So everyone is up for the challenge. And as I said, it's a very difficult situation. It weighs heavily on our shoulders, but that's part of football.

"I would like to use it the other way around. When you play to win the trophy, that weighs heavily on you. You need to handle that pressure as well. There's always pressure.

"Unfortunately for us, it's a negativity pressure, but we need to handle that as well."