St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean has been sacked.
The Perth side were beaten 4-0 by St Mirren on Saturday, with MacLean suggesting it looked like some of his players “chucked it” as the game ran away from them.
Saints are bottom of the Premiership table and the only team in the SPFL without a league win.
Assistant boss Liam Craig, their all-time record appearance holder, has also left the club, with Alec Cleland placed in charge as caretaker manager for Wednesday night’s game against Kilmarnock.
MacLean took training at McDiarmid Park on Sunday morning, with preparations beginning for the Killie match.
He then had a meeting with Stan Harris, with the chief executive deciding he wanted to make a managerial change after that.
MacLean is a Saints legend, having scored in the 2014 Scottish Cup final and been Callum Davidson’s assistant for the 2021 cup double.
He took over from Davidson in April, and got the results that kept the club in the top flight with a game to spare.
He signed a three-year contract before outgoing chairman, Steve Brown, passed the baton to Harris.
Tasked with slashing the budget by around £1 million, MacLean reshaped the Saints squad against that backdrop, bringing in 11 new players and cutting the average age.
The League Cup group stage was a disaster as Stenhousemuir, Ayr United and Stirling Albion all defeated Saints – the last of those 4-0 at McDiarmid.
Back to back Premiership draws gave hope that upward momentum was at last building but Saturday’s heavy defeat in Paisley was an ominous backwards lurch.
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