The Daily Record reports that Rangers academy coach, Peter Lovenkrands, is a ‘serious contender’ for the vacant manager’s job at St Johnstone.
Tommy Wright left his post with the Perth side over the weekend after seven years in charge and while Saints won’t rush to appoint a successor, the Dane is said to be in the running.
Is he ready to make the step up to becoming a no.1, though? Does he actually want to become a manager?
Here’s what he has said on the subject in recent years.
Back in May 2017 when he accepted his first coaching role with the Academy, Lovenkrands admitted that he had applied for but missed out on the role of first-team assistant manager.
He was disappointed but knew he was inexperienced and would need to work hard to move up the ladder.
“I have ambitions, I would love to be higher up and this is a way for me to come in and show what I can do and try to work my way up,” he said, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
“But it’s not like I want to go in and work my way up to be a manager right away. I can’t see myself as a manager actually for quite a while, I need to learn a lot of the game in that way, the coaching side of it, but I do think I can see myself being higher up.”
The Dane has since moved through the ranks and now shares responsibility for the Colts and Development teams alongside Graeme Murty.
In February 2019, he was linked to becoming FC Nordsjaelland boss.
“Of course, I’d be flattered by any interest from FC Nordsjaelland,” he said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “They’re my local club and being a manager is something I want to do in the future.”
“But I love my job at Rangers and that’s all I’m focusing on right now.”
Over a year has passed since those comments and he’s since helped to guide the Colts deep into the Challenge Cup as well as aiding the U20s’ UEFA Youth League run.
Lovenkrands is clearly ambitious enough, but whether or not he throws his hat into the ring for the Saints job will likely depend on whether he thinks he’s built up enough coaching experience over the last three years to succeed as a no.1.
