St Johnstone signing Barry Douglas wants to bring 'quality and experience' to help young squad

New St Johnstone signing Barry Douglas hopes to bring his "quality and experience" to McDiarmid Park as he pens deal until end of season

The 35-year-old defender was most recently plying his trade in Poland with Lech Poznan and is now joining a St Johnstone side who are now under the leadership of Simo Valakari. After they thumped Ross County 3-0 at home at the weekend, they added Douglas to their ranks days later, as they look to build on that win as they start a new era under the Finnish manager.

Douglas started out in Scotland for Queen’s Park and played for various clubs including Dundee United, Turkish side Konyaspor, and a few English clubs in Wolves, Leeds and Blackburn. The full-back won the English Championship with both Wolves and Leeds United an he also won a Scotland cap in 2018, replacing Andy Robertson as a substitute in a 1-0 win over Hungary.

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Douglas told the club’s official website: “It is an exciting time. I am looking forward to the opportunity to come in and try to help the guys develop.

“There is a project here. It is a bit of a transition period with the new manager coming in.

“I had a look and it is quite a young squad, so I can definitely bring my quality and experience to help everyone develop both on and off the park.

“The hunger is still there, the drive is still there and that is why I am so excited to be here playing my football.”

He watched on as his new club were 3-0 victors at the weekend, adding: "It was a good and convincing win.

“There is definitely a lot of quality in the squad and I think when we start to work with the new manager and his philosophy, the only way is up really.

“We should have momentum now. The squad will have a lot of belief and positivity".