Charlie Mulgrew makes St Johnstone manager pitch as former Celtic defender takes boss pointers from Neil Lennon advice

Charlie Mulgrew has pitched his services to St Johnstone as the former Celtic and Scotland defender looks to take his first steps into management.

Steven MacLean and assistant Liam Craig were given their jotters at the weekend after a winless start to the Premiership season in Perth. St Johnstone have a history of hiring rookie bosses, including MacLean, Callum Davidson and Derek McInnes at the start of his managerial career.

Mulgrew is pondering his next steps after retirement, following time at Dundee United. Armed with lessons from the likes of Neil Lennon who he worked with at Celtic, the 37-year-old has issued a come and get me plea to St Johnstone. He told Lucky Block: "I would love to get into management and coaching and would love the opportunity at St Johnstone – that’s a job that would excite me. I’ve got clear ideas on how I see my team and clear ideas on how I want to manage people and create an honest culture within the club – everybody being their true authentic self.

“I want to be a manager, the leader and give the boys a feeling of security by knowing exactly what their job is on the pitch. It’s about letting them play with freedom within a style of football based on positioning and control in and out of possession and I’m adamant on how I want to do that. Also, a massive part of being a manager is caring for your players. In my whole career as a player and player-coach in the changing room has been about learning how to care for people to get the best out of them, and that's something I can take into management as well.

“You can have all the philosophies, the way you want them to play and the special tactics and 100 page-thick document on how you see your team playing, but if you don’t connect with