Former Hibs boss to 'support the coaching team' at SPFL club as manager takes immediate 'extended leave'
A former Hibs boss will provide assistance after a managerial update.
Former Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen will ‘support’ the Spartans coaching team after it was confirmed Dougie Samuel is taking a leave of absence.
The Ainslie Park side defeated Stirling Albion 2-0 on League Two duty over the weekend, sitting fourth currently, in what has been an up and down start fourth tier life this season. They host Hamilton Accies in their next league phase match of the KDM Evolution Trophy on Tuesday but it’s been confirmed that Samuel has taken leave.
He has been manager at the Edinburgh-based club since 2012, the longest serving SPFL manager, guiding them through their ascent to the professional leagues. They missed out on promotion through the play-offs last term and now Samuel will step away for the foreseeable. Paatelainen has been working as sporting director at Spartans and will now assist the club’s coaching staff for upcoming matches. He has vast experience in Scottish football as a player and from managing Hibs, Kilmarnock and Dundee United, last in a SPFL manager role at Tannadice over a decade ago.
Why has former Hibs boss returned to the dugout at SPFL club?
A short statement from Spartans reads: “The Spartans FC Head Coach Douglas Samuel has gone on extended leave with immediate effect. Sporting Director Mixu Paatelainen will support the coaching team while Douglas is on leave.”
Paatelainen’s remit at Spartans has been from youth teams all the way up to senior player negotiations. A great level of detail is put on the physical aspect of the game, aspiring Spartans prospects being handed a sprint coach being one example of where marginal gains have been sought. Samuel has been the man making key tactical decisions but Paatelainen’s managerial experience at Hibs, Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Finland’s national team and more has been a sounding board.
He told the Evening News earlier this year: “I talk to the manager and the coaching staff about training. Training content, how can we improve our training and preparation for matches, tactics, what kind of tactics we should apply. The manager is the key person who really at the end of the day is in charge. I am there almost as a mentor, as a sounding board. I'm there to suggest things and help the manager and the coaching staff to then implement. They obviously have the final say. I do contract negotiations and contracts with the new players and with the extensions for existing players.
What has Mixu Paatelainen’s role been at Spartans?
“I'm the link between the management, the coaching staff, and the board. I let the board know what's going on, what's the idea, how things have gone and why, and what the future looks like. I have development squad, which is the most potential players if you like, from under-15s, under-16s and under-17s. So that development squad has training sessions and I talk to the coach. The coach is there and hopefully we can improve.
“We do improve how we coach those youngsters and develop them. I want to look at how we can get the best out of them on the development side of things. Then on top of the development squad, I've got the under-20s team and I talk to the coaches there about training and matches and stuff like that. On top of that, obviously men's first team, and the women's first team. So those are the teams that I talk to and I am a sounding board for them.”
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