St Johnstone’s golden era in the Premiership was built on picking up players who started out with ‘big six’ clubs in Scotland then dropped down the divisions.
After signing former Hibs forward Jamie Gullan, current head coach Simo Valakari will be hoping that theme continues in the Championship.
Courier Sport looks back on the 25-year-old’s career to date and assesses the role(s) Valakari will have in mind to get a clearer picture of what fans can expect Gullan to contribute to the Perth promotion push.
Crossing the Edinburgh divide
Gullan spent seven years in the Hearts academy – from the age of nine to 16 – before being released.
He spent a short time outwith the pro-youth system, playing with his friends in Edinburgh, but was soon picked up by Hibs.
Gullan didn’t know it at the time, but he had his dad to thank for not giving up on his football dream, as he had emailed then Easter Road head of recruitment, Graeme Mathie, to arrange a trial.
Kicking on
Hearts’ loss quickly became Hibs’ gain.
Gullan was part of Grant Murray’s development team that won a league and cup double, scoring in a 3-1 Scottish Youth Cup final victory over Aberdeen at Hampden Park.
That same season, 2017/18, Hibs felt Gullan was also ready to further his education away from Leith in men’s football – in the first half of that season with Gala Fairydean Rovers and the second part with Queen’s Park.
The upwards trajectory continued in the following campaign, when Gullan made his first team debut for Hibs in a Europa League qualifier against NSI Runavik from the Faroe Islands.
A few months later he was loaned to Raith (the first of five spells at Stark’s Park).
Making his mark at Stark’s
An 11-goal season for Raith in the Covid-interrupted 2019/20 campaign, most of them in League One, proved to be a real breakthrough for Gullan.
His contribution helped the Fife club earn promotion and saw one of his team-mates, experienced striker, John Baird, predicting big things from his young strike partner.
Baird ranked Gullan as a stronger prospect than current Saints player, Jason Holt, and Jamie Walker, who had both spent time with Raith on loan from Hearts.
“He’s definitely better than Jason Holt was,” he said. “While Jamie Walker did well in patches.
“If you’re putting Jamie Gullan in the same bracket then he’s definitely ahead in terms of his strength and power.
“That’s why I think he can go and play in the Premiership.
“He’s quick and he’s a well-built boy, so physically he’ll be able to handle himself in that Hibs team. There aren’t many boys with his strength at his age.
“He maybe just needs to bring a bit more consistency to his game, but that comes with experience, age and playing games.
“The game’s changed from the days of John Robertson or Ally McCoist, they were instinct finishers.
“Jamie’s not got that, but he’s a more rounded player. He will score goals from outside the box, and he’s got a good shot.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a natural finisher. I’d be surprised if he hit 20 goals a season but his assists will be up there, and he could get double figures possibly.
“It’s just the way the game is now, but as a number 10, he’s hard to pick up so he’ll always get a lot of shots from outside the box and, more often than not, he’ll hit the target.”
Under a knight’s wing
It was during that 2019/20 season that Gullan was brought into Sir Andy Murray’s 77 Sports Management stable.
Along with fellow Hibees, Ryan Porteous and Fraser Murray, and Scottish international, Caroline Weir, he had arguably Scotland’s greatest-ever athlete as a mentor.
“We’re in a group chat – me, Ryan, Fraser and Andy,” said Gullan.
“We’re always speaking in it, so it’s great. Fraser and Ryan had been part of it for a while, so I knew all about it and when they got in contact.
“I couldn’t really pass it up.
“He knows what it takes, and he’s played at the highest level. He’s the model pro for young people and any advice he gives me I take on board.”
Call of his country
Gullan’s Raith form also caught the eye of Scotland under-21 coach, Scot Gemmill, with a call-up earned despite the fact he had been scoring his goals in League One.
John McGlynn, the Stark’s Park boss at the time, even predicted Gullan could end up earning full honours.
“He probably can,” he said. “He scores goals and that’s what everyone is looking for. He’s not scared to shoot.
“If you look at some of the top strikers Hibs have brought through over the years – O’Connor, Riordan, Fletcher, Griffiths – these guys shoot all the time.
“They are not scared to shoot, and are a little bit selfish at times, but they score goals.
“That’s what Jamie does. He sees the goal and he shoots. He has two powerful feet, particularly his right.
“If he continues to gain experience, get on that pitch and pick up a few goals, then anything can happen for him because he’s got a good attitude, he works hard, has decent pace, two good feet, he’s a strong boy, and he’s level-headed. He ticks a lot of boxes.”
Lack of self-belief
Gullan made 20 appearances for Hibs in the first half of the 2020/21 season, twice playing against St Johnstone.
But comments by Jack Ross (and the player himself) are informative when you look for an explanation as to why that turned out to be as good as it got at Easter Road.
Gullan lacked self-confidence.
After a December win at Motherwell, when the youngster impressed, Ross observed: “It’s a case of constantly cajoling him to grow in belief and realise he is a good player and belongs at this level.”
Gullan admitted it was an issue he needed to address.
“I agree, self-belief is massive,” he said. “I’m trying to break into the team but there are a lot of good players here – strikers and wingers.
“Believing I can break in and stay there is probably half the battle. I definitely feel like I’m good enough, so I need to show that in training day in, day out and in any game I’m involved in. If I get a chance, I have to take it.”
What he brings and where he’ll play
The most important thing for St Johnstone fans isn’t what Gullan has done so far in his career and how he’s arrived at this point.
It’s all about what he now does in their team’s colours, having turned down other Championship offers to sign a two-year contract for Saints.
So, what is likely to be Valakari’s plan for him?
The good news for Gullan is that the Finn wasn’t relying on video footage and recommendations from scouts when he decided to sign him.
The Perth boss has twice watched his new recruit play.
Looking back, it was a fortunate coincidence that Scottish Cup draws against Hamilton Accies and then Livingston gave Valakari cause to watch Championship games in person.
And both of those sides faced Raith just before they took on the Perth men.
Gullan scored in a 3-0 victory at Hamilton, and he played the full 90 minutes of a 0-0 draw against Livi.
That he was one of the hardest working players on the pitch on both occasions is a given.
Valakari will also no doubt have been impressed with Gullan’s comfort operating in central areas and on the left-hand side.
The fact that he was able to crisply dispatch a half-volley in the box would have stuck in his new manager’s mind as well.
As John Baird observed all those years ago, Gullan isn’t a prolific striker who can be expected to post 20 goals a season.
But he seems well-suited to be the left-sided forward in a Valakari front three or a strike partner for an out-and-out number nine in a two.
The fact that the player nicknamed Hammer from the age of nine for the power of his shooting has a long-range free-kick goal in his armoury is a nice bonus given Graham Carey has left the club.
And he also seems an obvious penalty-taker candidate now that there’s a vacancy for that job (an injury-time spot-kick in Inverness during the season Raith battled with Dundee United for the title was as pressurised as they come).
After Gullan’s career stalled for a couple of seasons, Raith supporters arguably saw the best of him in his fifth and most recent spell, with his play between the boxes having significantly improved.
Saints are crying out for a versatile forward who has two good feet and can be relied upon to choose the right options with his link-up play.
Valakari, who helped transform Josh McPake’s output after identifying crucial areas of his game that needed attention, will back himself to raise Gullan’s standards higher yet and enable a player tipped for a top-flight career to fulfil the potential plenty of reliable judges had seen for years.
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