There is something quietly bold about what St Mirren have done this week. In a game that still reaches reflexively for the weathered, experienced head — the manager who has been around enough blocks to know every pothole — the Buddies have looked at a 36-year-old who spent most of last season working with the academy and said: he's the one.

Craig McLeish was confirmed as St Mirren's permanent head coach on a three-year deal after steering the club through the final 12 games of the 2025-26 Premiership campaign in a caretaker capacity. Across those 12 matches he won four and drew three — a decent enough return to earn the job on merit rather than simply by default.

Chief operating officer Keith Lasley was unambiguous in his reasoning. McLeish, he said, was "the outstanding candidate", with his grounding in the club's academy structure fitting neatly with an explicit ambition to become "the best development football club in Scotland." That is not a throwaway line. It is a statement of direction.

The youngest man in the dugout

At 36, McLeish is now the youngest manager or head coach currently working in the Scottish Premiership — at least until Motherwell settle their own vacancy. Rangers head coach Danny Rohl is a year older at 37, and David Gray at Hibernian is 38. Beyond those two, the rest of the top flight's managerial landscape skews noticeably older, up to and including Celtic, where 74-year-old Martin O'Neill is expected to continue.

So how have younger coaches fared in the Premiership? The honest answer is: it depends entirely on how patient the club behind them is willing to be.

A mixed record, but reasons for optimism

Ian Cathro arrived at Hearts in his early thirties with a reputation built on sharp tactical thinking and time spent learning under top coaches abroad. He won eight, drew seven and lost 15 of his 30 games in charge at Tynecastle before departing. More than four years on, Shaun Maloney took the Hibernian post aged 38. He too had serious coaching pedigree — notably working under Roberto Martinez with Belgium — but his win percentage at Easter Road was underwhelming, and a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hearts proved the end of the road. He subsequently spent time at Wigan Athletic before returning to assist O'Neill in Celtic's double-winning season just finished.

Yet the story doesn't end there, because the same Easter Road club that let Maloney go eventually handed a proper contract to David Gray, a former captain of the club who had taken interim charge across three separate spells. Gray's overall win ratio across 105 fixtures sits at 40 per cent — higher than either Cathro or Maloney — and last season he delivered a third-placed Premiership finish that took Hibs back into European football. Patience, it turned out, was the ingredient that had been missing before.

At Ibrox, Rohl replicated that third-placed finish with Rangers this term, though it represented a step down from the previous campaign's runners-up position, and a post-split run of four defeats from five left them trailing Celtic and Hearts by some distance. Still, 22 wins from 40 fixtures is a foundation to build on.

The gold standard for younger managers in Scotland, of course, remains Steven Gerrard. He arrived at Rangers aged 38, endured two trophy-less seasons while remodelling the club's culture and structure, and then delivered the league title in 2021, ending a 10-year wait for the Premiership. He left with a win percentage nudging 65 per cent. It required belief — and time.

Brighton, Brentford and a new template

Lasley pointedly cited the English top flight when justifying McLeish's appointment. Fabian Hurzeler, aged 33, guided Brighton to an eighth-placed Premier League finish and a place in the Conference League play-offs. Brentford, with Keith Andrews in his first senior head coach role, finished level on points with Brighton. These are clubs that have built their identities around process and development rather than prestige appointments.

That is clearly the model St Mirren are reaching for. Whether McLeish can make it work at a club of Paisley's size and resources remains to be seen — but the framework around the appointment, and the honesty about where the club wants to go, suggests this is not a gamble so much as a considered bet on the future.

Frequently asked

Who is Craig McLeish and why has St Mirren appointed him?
Craig McLeish is a 36-year-old coach who had been working within St Mirren's academy setup before taking interim charge for the final 12 games of the 2025-26 Scottish Premiership season. St Mirren described him as the outstanding candidate and handed him a three-year permanent deal, citing his background in player development and the club's ambition to become Scotland's best development club.
Who is the youngest manager in the Scottish Premiership right now?
Craig McLeish, aged 36, is currently the youngest permanent manager or head coach in the Scottish Premiership. Rangers' Danny Rohl is one year older at 37, and Hibernian's David Gray is 38. The post at Motherwell is still vacant, which could change the picture once filled.
Have young managers been successful in the Scottish Premiership before?
Results have been mixed. Ian Cathro and Shaun Maloney both struggled to sustain their spells at Hearts and Hibs respectively, while Steven Gerrard needed patience across two trophy-less seasons before delivering Rangers' league title in 2021. David Gray at Hibs has also shown steady improvement over time, suggesting that backing and patience from the board are key factors in a young coach's success.