Craig Levein will not make the “horrendous mistake” of taking on too much at St Johnstone after resuming his managerial career at McDiarmid Park.
The former Scotland boss has signed a contract with the cinch Premiership’s bottom side until May 2026.
Levein has left his role as club adviser at Highland League outfit Brechin City and brought with him Glebe Park manager Andy Kirk as his assistant.
The 59-year-old was at one point director of football and manager at Hearts before he left those roles in 2019 and he succeeds Steven MacLean, who left the Perth club last week.
Speaking at McDiarmid Park, Levein revealed he missed the “the cut and thrust” of football management but will take a new approach to the job which will involve more delegation.
He said: “What I realised at my latter spell at Hearts is trying to do two jobs is extremely difficult, that’s one thing I have learned.
“The reason I brought Andy with me is he can take some of the load, mainly the day-to-day coaching and give me the chance to spend what energy I have in areas that are the most important.
“I keep talking about having the energy to cope with the demands of the job and I did think that coming into a role in the Premiership and trying to do everything again would just be a horrendous mistake.
“So I have Alec (Clelland, first-team coach) here who knows the club and players and Hinshie (head of goalkeeping, Craig Hinchliffe) here as well, who is similar, and then with Andy and myself, I feel that we can split whatever duties there are so that everyone is doing what they are good at. That is the intention.”
Levein, whose previous clubs also include Dundee United and Leicester, stressed 44-year-old former Northern Ireland international Kirk’s responsibilities will be significant.
Ahead of a “tough” Premiership game against Motherwell on Tuesday night, he said: “His understanding of tactics is extremely good and the way he had Brechin playing, if we can replicate that, which is our aim – and we do have the players here to do that – then improving players and improving the overall team is eminently possible.
“I have been working with Andy for the last two or three years. He has his own ideas of how the team plays and the reason I am bringing him with me is we are going to play the same style.
“I have a huge amount of respect for him, a young coach making his way in the game and my job will be to manage everything, manage him doing the coaching and I want to give him that responsibility.
“He has got to the position where he has a clear idea of how he wants to play the game.
“We will try to play football. A lot of time it depends on your opponents and we will be flexible and try, if we can, to entertain.”
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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