Paatelainen, a former Saints player, said: "St Mirren is a fantastic club and they have great supporters, demanding ones, too. Like every other club, there is pressure when things are not going so well.
"However, the board of directors and the chairman work very hard and they are fantastic people. I've been working very hard in the past year, scouting for different clubs and looking to develop as a coach. I feel I've done that and now I want to go to an ambitious, healthy club."
Mixu was popular with the Saints suppport when he played for the club in the 2004/05 season and also coached the under-19s to the Youth Cup Final, which they lost to Hampden. He left in 2005 to manage Cowdenbeath and won them the third division before leaving to manage a club in Finland. He returned to Scotland to manage Hibs - who he played for for a number of years - in 2008 and took them to two top six finishes before leaving last summer.
Personally, I think Mixu would be a decent shout for the job. His teams played attacking football and, having been a physical striker himself, he seemed to like using a target man, which could help us get the best out of Michael Higdon. However, he did also seem to rate Armand One!
Another possible candidate, Ross County boss Derek Adams, refused to deny links with the club earlier this week. County are preparing for tomorrow's Scottish Cup Final against Dundee United and when asked about the Saints job, Adams would only say his focus was on that match. The Ross County chairman's comments weren't exactly convincing either, just saying there had been no contact rather than issuing a hands off warning.
Meanwhile, MacPherson's expected return to Kilmarnock is still on the cards after their chairman said he was an option if current boss Jimmy Calderwood - who has been linked with Saints - leaves when his contract expires in a few weeks.
Story source: The Evening Times