STEVE Wigley has a shortlist of "two or three" people from which he will pick his new assistant.

The Saints head coach, along with Dennis Rofe, has had to shoulder not only the managerial role at the club but also all the coaching and the running of the reserves since the departure of Paul Sturrock and his assistant Kevin Summerfield almost a month ago.

Getting the right man in place to work with Wigley has taken a while to sort out so far and could still require a little more time.

However, Wigley is being cautious in his approach in order to get exactly who he wants.

He said: "Everything has settled down and we're talking about football again, which is what I want to talk about.

"There will be somebody coming into the club and I'm considering the changes to the coaching staff.

"I won't rush into an appointment but I have two or three people in mind and I want to make sure I make the right decision because hopefully I'll be working with that person for a long time."

Wigley also paid tribute to the work done by Saints stalwart Rofe and added: "I'm very lucky to have somebody like Dennis to work alongside me.

"He's very popular with the players and the staff and he has a wealth of experience which is invaluable."

Saints have appointed Stewart Henderson as their new Under-21 coach and reserve team manager.

The former under 18s boss has been appointed in a newly-created role that will see him re-acquainted with the squad that he steered to the national championships at under 19 level last year.

It is expected that Dennis Rofe, who had been the previous reserve team manager, will revert to the first team coach role he occupied under Gordon Strachan's management.

Henderson explained: "Steve (Wigley) asked me about it last week and the way he put it to me, as a link between the players at the top end of the academy and the first team made it sound like a very exciting role.

"I don't think on a day to day basis my job will change that much because I have worked with a lot of these players before.

"But it is a chance to help them with their progress right the way through to the fringes of the first team."