St Johnstone have appointed Elliott Parish as the club’s goalkeeping coach until the end of the season.
Paul Mathers’ seven-year spell at McDiarmid Park came to an end at the weekend and he will now take up a post with the SFA.
Saints have decided to replace him from within.
As well as moving on to the coaching staff, Parish will continue to be back-up for Remi Matthews.
He last played in the 2-1 victory against Rangers when Matthews was sidelined with a hip injury.
Parish, 32, moved to Saints from Dundee in 2019. He started out as a professional in Aston Villa’s academy and played for several lower league clubs in England.
Elliot Parish or Gordon Banks? https://t.co/MCTPxmgNa0 pic.twitter.com/sNgTQl9Rxd
— Blair Kaylor (@BlairKaylor) November 7, 2022
“Paul has been a fantastic servant for the club and I’d like to thank him for all he’s done over the years,” said manager, Callum Davidson.
“The role he’s got at the SFA is the type of opportunity he’s been looking for.
“It’s a new chapter for him and a new chapter here.
“We’re putting Elliott in charge of the goalkeepers until the end of the season.
“He’s still playing so there’s a balancing act but it worked with Stevie Banks when he was here.
“Elliott is looking towards his career after football and this accelerates that pathway.
“He’ll bring professionalism and enthusiasm.
“That’s been the case with Liam (Craig) since he made the switch into coaching.
“I know Elliott will do that with the goalies.
“Continuity of staff members is important.
“It’s been a big part of the success at St Johnstone.
“We want Elliott to put his stamp on what we’re doing in that specialised area because we want to continue developing top goalies.
“We’ve got good young ones here – Ross (Sinclair) is doing very well at Montrose and we’ll probably look to put Jack (Wills) out in the second half of the season.”
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