St Johnstone have sacked manager Steven MacLean following a 4-0 defeat by St Mirren that left them bottom of the Scottish Premiership. MacLean, who took over in April, had a meeting with the club's chief executive on Sunday, leading to the decision for a managerial change. The team is winless in their first nine league games, with Saturday's loss being the final straw. Alex Cleland will take over as interim manager.
And the Perth Saints have taken the decision to relieve the 41-year-old of his duties after being on the receiving end of a 4-0 demolition by St Mirren on Saturday that rooted them to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. The McDiarmid Park side are winless from their opening nine league games, with four draws and a fifth defeat in Paisley proving to be the final straw for Saints chiefs.
MacLean replaced hugely-popular manager Callum Davidson in April this year, after the former boss suffered a similar downturn of form. It leaves the Saints searching for a second manager in less than two seasons. He lambasted his squad after Saturday's loss, bullishly claiming some of the players would be 'lucky' to pull on the jersey again.
A brief club statement read: "St Johnstone Football Club can announce that it has parted company with Steven MacLean and Liam Craig. In the interim, Alex Cleland will assume responsibilities for First Team matters." Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
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