Scottish Cup on TV: St Johnstone’s Simo Valakari on Livingston
Valakri has experienced some tough times since taking over last October.
Despite the external positivity, has he experienced any self-doubt at any moment?
He said: “Yes, yes, I’ve said it a lot, and when you don’t get results, everyone starts to doubt what we’re doing.”
“Politicism has never been anywhere because if we start to be negative internally, what’s the point?
“Am I frustrated? Yes, I’ve been frustrated, but confidence, belief and positivity – it still exists. We don’t always get the results we always want, and that’s the essence of the alliance.”
The Finnish manager stressed that even if the results did not develop, he firmly believed that St. Johnstone had improved under the watch and it was necessary to enjoy your work.
He added: “You can see the clear identity we want to play with, but there are moments where we might have added another layer and we have a more pragmatic way to go longer.”
“So that’s how I see football, how should it be – it’s a process where you start somewhere, add layers, and then take you somewhere, but it doesn’t affect the motivation because I’ve been spending my whole life in football and football, which is fun and you need to enjoy going to work.
“Yes, stress always exists, but you need to enjoy going to work, enjoy playing with friends, you need to enjoy your career, which is why I think positive attitudes are more fun than crying all the time.”
As a side of the top game, St. Johnstone will start the game with a slight favorite, but needs to be very careful against the Livingston team, third in the championship game and unbeaten in the last 11 games.
Livi also claimed a Premier League cup scalp in the form of Ross County.
“This is a great example of how Ross County is doing, but they follow the game plan, Livingston, they execute the game well, they take the opportunity, they defend them.”
“They are a very good and strong team with a clear identity and they want to play.
“I know they want to put pressure on us, they want to play, they want to come and put pressure on us, they want us to take some stupid mistakes, and then they have experience and quality around them to know how to play these games.
“But we are also a good team and we performed well.
“We have some younger players on our team, but they’ve been talking to older players as well.
“There isn’t much chance of going to Hampden to the semifinals in your career, and it’s a big moment, so why we’re important in the forefoot.
“We went with a positive attitude and we were not in the competition.”
