Hibs managerial 'target' identifies reason for Easter Road links as Steve Evans reports addressed
St Johnstone boss credits team for putting him in shop window
Potential Hibs target Simo Valakari admits he understands why he’s being linked with the role left vacant by David Gray’s dismissal. But the St Johnstone boss – who inflicted a defeat on Gray just over a week before the axe fell on the Easter Road gaffer - insists he’s not focusing any further than his team’s next game.
Valakari, who has been mentioned as potential successor to the departed manager, said: “My players are doing it. My club is doing it. That’s the only reason a coach gets mentioned.
Finnish gaffer knows how game works
“It is a credit to my club and my players if maybe I get mentioned somewhere. I have spent all my life in football, and I know how it works.
“The only thing I can say is I have spent most of my football life in the UK and even when I’ve been out of the UK, I have known that every time there’s a vacancy somewhere all the names of coaches will be thrown in. That’s how you guys work.
“We have a game on Saturday, and my full focus is on that. As a manager you only have the next game, nothing after that. Football has a short memory.”
Sympathy and empathy for Gray
Valakari expressed sympathy for fellow professional Gray, saying: “He’s my colleague and I feel for him. It tells you the ruthlessness of this business.
“There’s nothing else I can say. It has happened to me, and I know with big certainty that it will happen to me in the future. That’s how it is but it is always sad.”
Hibs have not approached Bristol Rovers to discuss talks with manager Steve Evans, meanwhile, despite reports linking the Edinburgh club with the veteran coach. The club still hope to have a manager appointed early in the international break, in order to give the new man fair run at the crucial fixtures – including a Hampden semi-final against Hearts – once domestic football returns on October 10.