Former Forest Green Rovers head of recruitment to be appointed head coach of one-time Champions League club

Ex-Forest Green Rovers head of recruitment Stevie Grieve is set to be appointed head coach of SJK Seinäjoki, one-time Champions League and Veikkausliiga champions.

Grieve has been working at SJK in Finland since April and finished fourth in the second division with the SJK Academy.

The move will promote him from B team manager to head coach of one of Finland’s best domestic clubs.

The 36-year-old Scot left his role at the Gloucestershire club in March having overseen a hectic January period where the club looked to preserve their League One status.

Grieve has since built a strong reputation in the Finnish game moving the country and returning to coaching, something he has built up experience of since the age of 16.

In Finland, to manage a club in the top flight, known as ‘Veikkausliiga’, head coaches are expected to have or are undertaking all of their coaching badges, including a UEFA Pro license but Grieve currently holds an A Licence.

He will be assisted by retired Finland international Toni Lehtinen – who has a Pro Licence – and therefore allows Grieve to take on the footballing activities.

As a result of not having the required badges to take sole management of the club, Lehtinen will be required to take media duties before and after games.

Similarly to some other cold climate countries, Finland’s top division plays its season predominantly in the summer and in that time, Grieve is likely to begin a Pro Licence, with completion time as long as two years in some cases.

Whilst at SJK Academy, despite being one of the favourites to go down, Grieve managed to reach the playoffs before they faced IF Gnistan in the semi-final.

SJK Academy conceded in the final few seconds of normal time to make it 2-2 before their opponents went on to win 4-2 in extra time.

Veikkausliiga side FC Honka filed for bankruptcy in November 2023 after the season had finished which meant that Grieve’s side were minutes away from history as IF Gnistan were promoted despite losing the final.

A win for Grieve’s side would’ve provided an unprecedented situation where both the B team and the first team were in the top division of Finnish football.

Grieve, the former head of recruitment at Forest Green, facilitated deals for 11 players in January 2023, including current key players Charlie McCann, Tyrese Omotoye, and Jamie Robson.