St Johnstone sack manager Craig Levein

St Johnstone have sacked manager Craig Levein just five matches into the new Scottish Premiership campaign.

The former Scotland boss, 59, took the post in November last year and staved off the threat of relegation.

The Perth side sit 10th in the table, with one win and four defeats.

Coaches Andy Kirk and Alex Cleland will take charge for the weekend trip to Ross County.

Saints began the season with three wins from four in the Premier Sports Cup, losing out to League One Alloa Athletic.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away to Hibernian was the team’s fourth successive defeat in all competitions.

Levein, co-host of the BBC podcast Sacked in the Morning, has had two spells in charge of Hearts, while he also managed Leicester City and Dundee United.

He was Scotland manager from December 2009 to November 2012, winning 10 of his 24 matches.

American Adam Webb took control of St Johnstone this summer, following almost four decades of Geoff Brown’s ownership at McDiarmid Park.

A short statement from the club read: “The board of directors can announce that St Johnstone Football Club has today parted company with manager Craig Levein.

“The football club would like to place on record its thanks to Craig for all of his efforts during his time at McDiarmid Park.”