Simo Valakari on St Mirren's Serious Ambitions

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari believes St Mirren are quietly putting together something serious this season – and he’s not prepared to underestimate them.

Craig McLeish’s side opened their Premiership campaign with a sharp, controlled 2-0 win over last season’s surprise package Falkirk, backing up an eye-catching League Cup group stage in which they won three of four games, hit 12 goals and cruised into the next round as defending champions.

While others look elsewhere, Valakari has been paying close attention.

“I’ve been very impressed,” he admitted, pointing to a club that has turned last year’s struggle into this year’s platform. St Mirren only survived via the play-offs last season, but that escape seems to have hardened their resolve rather than drained it. With time to work on their structure and style, McLeish’s side now carry a far clearer idea of who they are and how they want to play.

They have added quality on the ball, but in Valakari’s eyes, the core hasn’t changed. The “old DNA of St Mirren” remains intact – aggressive, awkward, and unapologetically physical. They want to bully opponents. They relish the fight. Around that edge, Premiership experience runs through the squad, giving them a blend that looks far removed from a team tipped for another relegation scrap.

That, Valakari says, is precisely why they are dangerous. Expectations outside Paisley are low. Inside the dressing room, they are growing.

While others see a club that just survived, he sees a side “going a little bit under the radar” and quietly building momentum. He’s studied their pre-season games, tracked the tweaks, and points to a “clear identity” already emerging. Their opening league performance at Falkirk only confirmed his view.

Falkirk is rarely a comfortable trip: the surface, the stadium, the sense that nothing comes easily there. St Mirren handled it. They were solid when they had to be, patient when the game demanded it, and ruthless when space opened up. They kept the ball at the right times, then turned sharply and went vertical, with runners breaking in behind and stretching the game.

For Valakari, it was exactly what he expected from a side beginning to believe in itself. They’ve banked an away win, they return home next, and they can feel the momentum starting to build.

Upcoming Fixture

That is the backdrop to St Johnstone’s visit. Valakari’s team bounced straight back to the Premiership after relegation, and he knows this fixture is an early measure of where they truly stand. He calls it a tough challenge, but an exciting one.

St Mirren are not shouting about their ambitions. They don’t need to. If they keep playing like this, the rest of the league will do the talking for them.