St Johnstone

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

It would rub salt into Hearts' Premiership wounds, deepened by Thursday's Conference League exit, should Makenzie Kirk come back to haunt them on Sunday.

Having ended his stay at Tynecastle by helping Hamilton win promotion from League 1 while on loan, the 20-year-old was sold for an undisclosed fee this summer to St Johnstone.

Working alongside father Andy, the Saints assistant and fellow former Hearts striker, the younger Kirk was initially a regular substitute under Craig Levein, but he has started the latest four matches under new manager Simo Valakari and repaid the Finn with three goals - two in his past two outings.

The Edinburgh-born Northern Ireland Under-19 forward will fancy his chances of adding to his tally given Neil Critchley's side have only kept one clean sheet in their latest nine league games and have only won once in nine overall.

However, despite Kirk's influence, Saints have still only managed one victory of their own in their most recent seven.

They sit just one spot and one point above their bottom-placed hosts before a meeting between two clubs for whom the new manager bounce has quickly disappeared.

Indeed, Kirk and Saints will be battling against the weight of recent history, considering Saints have lost four in a row at Tynecastle since a 1-0 win in December 2019.

Hearts have, in fact, won each of their latest seven meetings with St Johnstone since a 2-1 defeat in February 2022 and will be desperate to make amends after their failure to secure a win against lowly-ranked visitors that would have kept them in Europe beyond Christmas for the first time in 36 years.

Should Kirk help to end Hearts' winning run in this fixture, though, it will only add to the question marks being posed about the recruitment policy at his former club.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks

Sam Miller
Fan writer

Being a Saintee, I've seen my fair share of disappointment over the years.

Gretna scoring a 94th-minute equaliser in Dingwall to get promotion at our expense still sits top of that particular category.

However, last Saturday hurt. A lot. An abundance of angry fans were pointing the finger at the referee for not stopping play for a foul in the build-up to St Mirren's injury-time winner.

However, the fact remains we were 2-1 up with five minutes to play. Game management was lacking and with two wins in seven, points were more important than having four strikers on the pitch.

It's great we are going out all guns blazing and playing mostly nice football. But it's a points business and they need to come. Quickly.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints Podcast, external

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari says there is "no hiding" and "no fear" from his players heading into the bottom-of-the-table clash with Hearts at Tynecastle.

Second-bottom Saints, currently a point above Sunday's hosts, are seeking a first win in four matches.

Valakari said: "As we always say the next game is always the biggest, so it is the biggest game of the season.

"We have put ourselves in this position and only we can take us out of this position, so we see opportunities.

"Are we happy to be in this position? No, of course not, but we are there so that is where there is no hiding, there is no fear, there is no drama. We need to face it, we need to go there to play and then see where we are."

Despite leading 2-1 after 81 minutes against St Mirren last weekend, Valakari's side lost 3-2 and have won just one of their past seven matches.

A win on Sunday will pile the pressure on Hearts, but a defeat will drop Saints to the foot of the table.

"As always we are brave, we will see the opportunity," Valakari added. "We are going to play against good players, a big club – if I could guess, they are not happy with their position as well and they see this as an opportunity as well.

"Is it a pressure situation for the players? Of course it is, that is normal how the players' brain and mind works, but at the same time these are the moments where we see where we are, how we handle this – if you want to call negative moments."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premiership basement battle with Hearts.

Here are the key lines from the Perth boss:

• On whether this is Saints' biggest match of the season: "As we always say the next game is always the biggest game."

• Given the league positions of the sides, Valakari understands the "narrative" around the game. His team have put themselves in this position and only they "can take us out" of it.

• He adds: "Nothing has changed in our thinking, our process, that we need to take it game by game, then we see after Sunday where we are, we face it and then we move forward."

• Valakari points out that Hearts have good players and will also see this game as an opportunity.

• He admits it is a pressure situation for the players, but says "these are the moments where we see where we are, how we handle this – if you want to call negative moments".

• On his son Paavo joining the coaching staff, Valakari says: "Yes, he is my son but I think all of you already know me well enough that, yes I can be nice and polite, but for my club I don't compromise anything. I always pick what is the best for the club and he is a very good coach, he will help us."

• On reports that Benjamin Kimpioka has declined contract discussions, Valakari says "there haven't been any talks", pointing it out it has been so busy, and "there is absolutely no drama in this situation".

• Lewis Neilson can't play under the terms of his loan from Hearts. No fresh injury issues.

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St Johnstone have added Paavo Valakari - son of head coach Simo - to the club's coaching staff as performance manager.

The 26-year-old will be part of the first-team coaching staff and also take training sessions with academy through to development players.

St Johnstone say his duties will include "analysing game model and performance, while determining how future improvements can be made".

The 26-year-old Finn has coaching experience with SJK Seinajoki and KaPa in his homeland, with roles including head coach of the women's team and men's reserve team.

He said: "This brings huge excitement and it is also a huge honour for me. It is a great feeling to get started."

Forward Benjamin Kimpioka, 24, has declined contract talks with St Johnstone, with his current deal at McDiarmid Park running out at the end of the season. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Which player has lit up the Premiership the most this season?

Celtic may be bounding clear at the top of the table, and Dundee United flying high after promotion, but it's at St Johnstone where the standout star resides.

That's according to former Aberdeen and Scotland striker Lee Miller, who has singled out Saints striker Benjamin Kimpioka.

The 24-year-old Swede, who joined the Perth club in January, hit the ground running this term with five goals in the League Cup group stage and has 11 in 20 apperances in all.

Kimpioka's league tally of six in 15 games is bettered only by Dundee United striker Sam Dalby (8). But it's not just Kimpioka's goal haul that has caught the eye.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, Miller said: "I'm going to go left-field with this one.

"I was going to go with [Nicolas] Kuhn at Celtic. He's been excellent this season so far. But the times that I've seen St Johnstone, I've really enjoyed Kimpioka. He just plays with a pure freedom. Every time he gets on the ball, he wants to do wee stepovers, he wants to change direction.

"He's been electric and he's scored a good few goals as well. And I think it allows the likes of young Makenzie Kirk coming through, who has started to score goals because he's been getting a run in the team.

"Since Simo Valakari took over there, they've got a new style of play and they're attacking. Players are stepping up and I just think it's good to watch and it's totally away from the normal.

"The times I've seen Kimpioka, he plays with a smile on his face, he plays with freedom and he's somebody you want to pay to watch."

Uche Ikpeazu, who has undergone two operations since his summer transfer, has made a "big step" on his road to a St Johnstone comeback, head coach, Simo Valakari, has revealed. (The Courier), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari is confident the Perth club will be ready to make good signings next month but admits that the January window is about a "quick fix" to improve the team in the short term. (The Courier), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Watch highlights from St Johnstone's 3-2 defeat by St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

Watch Sportscene analysis St Johnstone's performance in their 3-2 defeat by St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your thoughts on St Johnstone's 3-2 Premiership loss against St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Sandy: Still a naivety up front, but naivety or lack of confidence pervades the whole team at times - the other Saints won the first half easy with some Perth players out of position, but there was certainly improvement in the second half.

Henri: Ignoring the poor refereeing decisions, to go 2-1 up and still have four pretty tired attackers on the field is shocking. I understand Simo Valakari was looking for a more attacking mindset, but only bringing one substitute on the entire match is pretty disappointing. Bringing on some more defensive players would have probably secured the three points.

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• Benjamin Kimpioka has scored six goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other St Johnstone player.

• St Mirren have won six points from losing positions in the Premiership this season, only Dundee (nine) and Kilmarnock (11) have recovered more.

• St Johnstone have conceded eight goals to opposition substitutes in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• St Mirren have scored three goals in a game for the first time since 30 October 2024 against St Johnstone, a game they won 3-1.

St Johnstone could only blame themselves following Saturday's 3-2 defeat by St Mirren, says McDiarmid Park manager Simo Valakari. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

Mark O'Hara's initial spot-kick was saved but goalkeeper Josh Rae was off his line, allowing Idowu to slam in the second attempt.

Killian Phillips had put the visitors in front after just 10 minutes when he slotted beyond Josh Rae.

St Johnstone equalised in the second period when captain Nicky Clark set up Mackenzie Kirk before Benjamin Kimpioka put the hosts in front.

Youngster Evan Mooney equalised on the 88th minute before St Mirren were awarded a penalty for a handball deep into stoppage time.

St Mirren move into the top six, although Dundee have a game in hand, while the Perth side remain in 10th.

St Johnstone fans, were you at McDiarmid Park or following the action from home? Either way we want your views on the performance, external.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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It was a poor opening 45 minutes from Simo Valakari's side who failed to create any real opportunities.

A much better start to the second period got St Johnstone back on level terms and then in front.

But their attacking intent, instead of focusing on seeing out the match, probably cost them the victory as they stay stuck in the danger zone at the bottom end of the Premiership.

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "We started very badly, it was my fault I put three strikers there.

"At half-time we were able to talk and change a couple of positions then in the second half it was very good. We scored two beautiful goals.

"We needed to have cool heads, at 2-1 we still wanted to push instead of seeing the game out then we lose the whole match which is disappointing.

"It's the hardest lesson we have learned because we were totally in control. I understand the players wanted to go for the third and fourth goal and we lost it a little bit, the emotions the street smartness. We need to learn from that.

"We need to start getting those points. We are not yet there that we can play a full 90 minutes, we need to learn to do that. We have extremely good spells in our game, we have some very bad moments as well. Nothing has changed where we are in our process.

"The table doesn't lie, we are not doing enough good things to climb the table."

Lewis Neilson, 21, is happy to be playing a versatile role at St Johnstone. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

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St Johnstone have Andre Raymond and Bozo Mikulic back but Barry Douglas remains out along with long-term absentees Uche Ikpeazu (knee), Cammy MacPherson (hip) and Sam McClelland (Achilles).

The suspended Alex Gogic drops out for St Mirren but Alex Iacovitti could return. Charles Dunne remains out with a hamstring problem.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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St Johnstone's Lewis Neilson says there has been "a mentality shift" since manager Simo Valakari came to the club.

"There is a lot more positivity around the place and also expectation to go and get results," said defender Neilson.

"The way we are training every week I think the tempo has been boosted, the morale has been boosted so 100% there is a mentality to go and try and get three points in every game we play."

Speaking prior Saturday's Premiership visit of St Mirren, Neilson believes it won't be long before ninth-place St Johnstone start turning their performances into wins.

"I think we are seeing that game on game [improvement] since the new manager has been in, there are plenty of positives to take from each game, we are starting to play a lot more football," he added.

"Hopefully we can put a few wins together."

Defender Neilson arrived on a season-long loan from Hearts in the summer.

"That is what I am on loan for, to play as many games as possible and get as much experience as possible in the Premiership," he said.

"I am really enjoying it, it is a great club. I have played multiple positions now this season so I am happy as long as I am on the pitch getting minutes in."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Simo Valakari says the no-fear approach among his St Johnstone players "gives me confidence" in what they can achieve.

After being appointed in October, the Finn has overseen a marked improvement in performances.

While wins have been hard to come by - just two in Valakari's seven games so far - he is happy with the mentality within the group.

The Perth boss said: "The very first day we made a promise to each other that we go without fear because if you start playing football with fear you start being afraid of the mistakes, it doesn't take you anywhere.

"How much they have changed I cannot say, but I can say I see them every day in training and there are hungry boys who want to improve as individuals and as a team. If I see that, that gives me confidence.

"I have said it to the boys that if you don't prepare as well as we can, if we don't do the things we have tried to do during the week in a match, if you don't work hard for the team, then after the match there is no point in being disappointed because we didn't do our job."

Ninth-place Saints welcome St Mirren, who are four points above them, to McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

The Perth side go into the game in good spirits after impressing during a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen last time out.

"It is all about getting these wins because three points is so massive," added Valakari.

"We know our weaknesses, we try to hide them as much as possible, but at the same time we know what we are very good at, so we try to play with our strengths as much as possible.

"We need a result but we can't focus too much on the results. We need to focus on the performance then the results will follow."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premiership visit of St Mirren.

Here are the key lines from the Perth boss:

• Valakari says it is a "big game" against a "very interesting team" who have "a clear identity of what they are trying to do".

• While happy with his team during last weekend's 1-1 draw at Aberdeen, he says there are a lot of areas they can improve.

• On the mentality of his squad since he came took charge, he says: "From the very first day, we made a promise to each other that we go without fear."

• Despite having just one victory in their last six games, St Johnstone's performances have been improving – but Valakari says "it is all about getting these wins", adding that keeping their performance levels high will give them a good chance.

• The Finn says every player and manager wants the top six, but he doesn't "spend one minute" looking at league table permutations, adding "we only concentrate on the concrete things that we can do".

• There are no fresh fitness issues. Bozo Mikulic and Andre Raymond return from injury.

Andy Campbell
BBC Sport Scotland

Makenzie Kirk bolstered his burgeoning reputation last weekend with the opening goal as St Johnstone drew 1-1 with Aberdeen.

It was the 20-year-old forward's fifth goal in all competitions this season, which includes one for Saints Under-20s in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

Kirk is following in the footsteps of his father, Andy, who played and scored in Scottish football with Hearts and Dunfermline and also represented Northern Ireland. Kirk senior is of course part of the coaching staff at St Johnstone.

For the younger Kirk, St Mirren are in his sights. The Buddies side are coming off a defeat before this Saturday's contest in Perth.

The gap between the sides stands at four points with St Johnstone ninth and St Mirren seventh.

With sixth-placed Dundee among the sides not playing this weekend, it's an opportunity for both sides to make up some ground.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks