St Johnstone backroom staff
We hold the names of 23 people on St Johnstone's staff for 2025/26, beyond the players. Simo Valakari manages the first team, with Jordi Aluja as assistant manager. St Johnstone's is the joint 7th longest staff list of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs we hold.
Coaching staff
The manager, the assistants and the coaches at every level of the club, 8 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simo Valakari | Manager | First team | 52 | Finland | Kuopion Palloseura before that Tromsø IL |
| Danny Griffin | Manager | Under-19s | 47 | Northern Ireland | - |
| Jordi Aluja | Assistant manager | First team | 29 | Spain | - |
| Gerry Creaney | Coach | Under-19s | 55 | Scotland | - |
| Nathan Lowndes | Coach | Under-19s | 48 | England | - |
| Robbie Liddell | Coach | Under-19s | 42 | Scotland | - |
| Gordon Marshall | Goalkeeping coach | First team | 61 | Scotland |  |
| Scott Findlay | Goalkeeping coach | Under-19s | 41 | Scotland | - |
Medical and sports science
Doctors, physios and sports scientists, 3 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ewen Fraser | Club doctor | First team | 30 | Scotland | - |
| Caitlin Wright | Head physio | Club-wide | 25 | - |  |
| Euan Haughey | Physio | First team | 23 | Scotland | - |
Scouting and analysis
Scouts, recruitment analysts and performance analysts, 2 people
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Nabours | Recruitment analyst | 20 | United States |
| Paavo Valakari | Head performance analyst | 27 | Finland |
Football management
The people who run the football side, from the sporting director to the academy, 1 person
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul McDonald | Head of youth development | 57 | Scotland | Partick Thistle before that Kilmarnock |
Owners and directors
Who owns St Johnstone and sits on its board
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Webb | Owner | 55 | United States |  |
| Francis Smith | Managing director | 43 | Scotland | - |
| Aileen Campbell | Director | 45 | - | - |
| Alisdair Dewar | Director | 49 | Scotland | - |
| Andrew Litster | Director | 64 | Scotland | - |
| Daniel Lamb | Director | 39 | Scotland | - |
| Gus MacPherson | Director | 56 | Scotland |  |
| Matt Klase | Director | 48 | United States | - |
| Roddy Grant | Director | 58 | Scotland | - |
Backroom staff at every Scottish Premiership club
The names we hold at each club in the division, 2025/26
St Johnstone's list is the joint 7th longest of the 12, against a median of 24 across the division. Celtic names the most, 39. St Mirren names the fewest, 18.
St Johnstone against the Scottish Premiership, department by department
Names held in each department, beside the average and the most at any one club
| DEPARTMENT | ST JOHNSTONE | AVERAGE | MOST | AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching | 8 | 8 | 11 |  |
| Medical and sports science | 3 | 5 | 8 |  |
| Scouting and analysis | 2 | 6 | 14 | |
| Football management | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Owners and directors | 9 | 6 | 10 |  |
Backrooms the size of St Johnstone's, in every league
St Johnstone's 23 names make the joint 483rd longest staff list of the 815 clubs we hold one for
| # | CLUB | LEAGUE | STAFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 483 |  | Süper Lig | 23 |
| 483 |  | Scottish Premiership | 23 |
| 483 |  | Major League Soccer | 23 |
| 483 |  | La Liga 2 | 23 |
| 483 |  | Women's Super League | 23 |
| 483 |  | Division 1 Féminine | 23 |
| 483 |  | Major League Soccer | 23 |
| 483 | Radomiak Radom | Ekstraklasa | 23 |
| 483 |  | La Liga | 23 |
| 483 | Royal Football Club de Liège | Belgian Challenger Pro League | 23 |
| 483 | | Scottish Premiership | 23 |
| 483 |  | League One | 23 |
| 483 |  | - | 23 |
| 512 |  | League One | 22 |
| 512 |  | La Liga 2 | 22 |
| 512 |  | Ligue 2 | 22 |
| 512 |  | Brasileirão Série A | 22 |
| 512 |  | Super Liga | 22 |
| 512 |  | League Two | 22 |
| 512 |  | Brasileirão Série A | 22 |
| 512 | Dinamo Makhachkala | Russian Premier League | 22 |
Where St Johnstone's staff come from
6 nationalities across the 21 staff whose nationality we hold
Scotland supplies 13 of the 21, 62%. The median age is 47. The oldest is Andrew Litster, director, at 64, and the youngest Sterling Nabours, recruitment analyst, at 20. 6 members of staff came from another club.
Where St Johnstone's former staff work now
On St Johnstone's staff in an earlier season and at another club in 2025/26, 9 people
| NAME | ROLE NOW | NOW AT |
|---|---|---|
| Alec Cleland | Manager | Dundee United |
| Callum Davidson | Assistant manager |  |
| Liam Craig | Assistant manager |  |
| Craig Hinchliffe | Goalkeeping coach | |
| Elliott Parish | Goalkeeping coach |  |
| Paul Mathers | Goalkeeping coach | Dundee United |
| Alex Headrick | Fitness coach | Queen's Park |
| Craig Maitland | Head physio | Stenhousemuir |
| Declan Tobin | Performance analyst | Queen's Park |
Frequently asked questions
Who is St Johnstone's manager?
Simo Valakari is the St Johnstone first-team manager, aged 52. Jordi Aluja is the assistant manager.
Who is the goalkeeping coach at St Johnstone?
Gordon Marshall coaches the St Johnstone first-team goalkeepers.
Who is St Johnstone's head physio?
Caitlin Wright is head physio at St Johnstone.
How many backroom staff do St Johnstone have?
We hold the names of 23 people on St Johnstone's staff for 2025/26: 8 in coaching, 3 in medical and sports science, 2 in scouting and analysis, 1 in football management and 9 owners and directors. That is the joint 7th longest list of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs we hold, against a median of 24. Across every league we hold, that list is the joint 483rd longest of 815.
Where to next
For what St Johnstone pays its squad, see St Johnstone player wages. What each of these jobs pays across football is on backroom staff wages. Every club in the division is on Scottish Premiership wages.