'Room for improvement' after solid Saints start - Valakari

Manager Simo Valakari is not surprised by St Johnstone's solid start to the Scottish Premiership season but admits "there is a lot of room for improvement as well". After winning the Championship last term, the Perth side have adapted seamlessly to life back in the top division. They are currently seventh in the table with a haul of seven points from their opening six games. As they look to continue their positive start at home to Falkirk on Saturday, Valakari and his players appear to be keeping their feet firmly on the ground. He said: "Am I surprised where we are? No, because I have seen these players now for one year. I am very happy with the players we have brought in. "Do I think we are a final product, this is our level? No, we know we need to improve many things. "At the same time, there have been games I have been, 'OK, that was pretty OK, complete performance', some games I have felt we let ourselves down in some moments and we have not been able to take any points from those matches. "So, I think we are where we should be but there is a lot of room for improvement as well." Finn Valakari is braced for a tough challenge this weekend against a Falkirk side that got their first league win of the season in midweek with a 2-1 home success over Hearts. "I am very, very impressed with them, how they play football," Valakari said before the Bairns' Saturday visit. "They have big energy, they compress you, they have legs to really put you under pressure and then with the ball they can play some nice football, a lot of rotations, technical players who can receive the ball in a tight space. "Maybe someone can say, 'yes, but they didn't start the season well' but their team was not ready, the players were not ready. Now they are getting these players ready and they play at a very high level. "The result on Tuesday night tells you everything, so it is an interesting challenge ahead of us." St Johnstone met Falkirk in a 2025 friendly [SNS]