Former Rangers and Celtic transfer guru leaves Premiership rival as he's sent message after mission completed
The former Chief Scout also worked at Hibs, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers
Former Rangers and Celtic scout John Park has left his post as Head of Recruitment at St Mirren after helping the club win silverware and stay in the Scottish Premiership.
Park served as Celtic’s Recruitment Chief for nearly a decade before landing a senior scout position at Ibrox for 18 months. In between he’s served the likes of Hibs, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Maccabi Haifa and Vancouver Whitecaps among others. He was given the role of Head of Recruitment of the Buddies last season but is now being replaced for ex Motherwell scout Gavin Miller.
The Buddies were in dreamland in December when they defeated Celtic 3-1 in the League Cup final to win their first silverware in 13 years. However, a mid-season dip mixed with manager Stephen Robinson’s switch to Aberdeen left them sliding down the Premiership table, as they entered a relegation battle. After finishing 11th, Craig McLeish’s side stayed in the division by beating Partick Thistle 2-1 on aggregate in the play-off.
Ex Hoops and Gers man leaves St Mirren
A Buddies statement read: “While the club is moving forward with our managerial process, we are delighted to welcome Gavin Miller as our new Head of Recruitment. A multi-disciplined data, scouting and recruitment lead, Gavin joins the club ahead of the 2026/27 season following a thorough hiring process. Gavin has spent the last five years at Motherwell FC after a spell in English football.
“The appointment comes following the departure of John Park. John played an important role behind the scenes in establishing key recruitment infrastructure including our strategic partnership with Driblab, a leading analytics consultancy. We thank John for his service and wish him the very best of luck in his future.”
Saints Chief Operating Officer Keith Lasley took the time to thank Park for his service. He added: "I would like to thank John Park for his efforts during his time at the club. John implemented some key processes behind the scenes and leaves the club with everyone's best wishes."
Ex Celtic and Rangers stars stay at the SMiSA
Also in the statement was a squad update from the club as former Celtic youth Marcus Fraser, who scored the winner to keep them up against the Jags, stays in Paisley for the next campaign. Furthermore, ex Rangers man Declan John will also stay at the club. The quintet of Scott Tanser, Dan Nlundulu, Luke Kenny, Oisin Smyth and James Scott will be leaving the SMiSA Stadium.
New behind the scenes man Miller will now be tasked with continuing the work of Park ensuring that the club’s recruitment can help avoid any future relegation scares. On his appointment, Lasley said: "I'm excited to welcome Gavin to the club. He was the standout candidate following a thorough recruitment process after John Park stated his intention to move on.
"Gavin joins the club with a proven track record of identifying high potential players that have generated significant revenue and has an extensive network across Europe and the UK. Gavin will be tasked with building on, and enhancing, our recruitment processes and using his experiences with data to support the club's long term strategic goals. He has already got to work assessing our squad and our needs for the upcoming season and has engaged in discussions with a number of our out of contract players.”