ST MIRREN boss Ian Murray has welcomed Alex Miller to his backroom team and admitted – he’s a better coach than me. Miller replaces Mark Spalding as Saints' assistant manager with Murray feeling he needed more experience in the dug-out as he tries to get the team away from the bottom half of the Championship table.

The 66 year-old Miller has a glittering CV that includes managing St Mirren, Hibs and various clubs overseas, and was also Rafa Benitez’s assistant when Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005. No timeframe has been set on how long he will stay with the Paisley club but Murray believes both he and his players can learn a huge amount from such a respected figure.

He said: “We felt we maybe needed to add some experience to the backroom staff over the short to medium-term and Alex certainly provides that for us. When you’ve got someone like that willing to come in and help – and at such short notice, too – then you have to move very quickly to get them. His style is totally different to Mark’s but hopefully it will bring about an upturn in fortunes. He’s worked with some really good, high-calibre players. He’s been around the block, working abroad as well, and his tactical knowledge of football is second to none. We had a good chat when we met up in Edinburgh. We met in the afternoon and it was concluded around teatime – that’s how fast it all moved.

“He was very keen to get involved in coaching, allowing me to dip in and out of it. That’s great for me as I can learn so much from his sessions. He has no intention of being a manager so it works well for all of us.

“I watched his team when he was Hibs manager. And I sometimes came across him on coaching courses and was always very impressed with his knowledge of football. He brings little things that should make our players better. He’s a better coach than me – no question. He’s been in the game 30 or 40 years, he’s double my age just about, and someone like that you can always learn from. If you can’t learn from a guy with his experience, with some of the clubs he’s been at and the managers he’s worked with, then I need to take a look at myself. But I think I can.”

Murray admits the pair won’t always see eye to eye but is happy with that. He added: “I think you need someone who will maybe disagree with you at times and stand up to you. Alex will certainly do that. He’ll tell you what he thinks and he’ll do that with the players as well. We’ll take his knowledge and try to use it to our advantage. Ultimately we all want the same thing which is St Mirren to win games. It’s just how Alex and I work together to make that happen. The decision ultimately still lies with the manager but the assistant has a huge say in things, too.”

Murray was sorry to see Spalding leave but felt it was for the benefit of the club. He added: “We’re all disappointed that Mark isn’t still here. It’s not about us falling out. But something had to change as results weren’t good enough. It was maybe just the wrong club at the wrong time for him. We felt we needed to have someone who has been there and done it and can relate more to the situation we’re in.”