Alex Rae has been appointed as the new manager of Scottish Championship strugglers St Mirren.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rangers and Dundee midfielder has penned a deal that sees him take over at St Mirren Park until the summer of 2017.

"It's obviously a fantastic opportunity," Rae told the club's official website. "In the main it is a young squad so it is always encouraging to work with younger guys and try and develop them.

"The thing is what they need is a little lift in terms of confidence and things. I'm quite a gregarious character, quite well spoken and I feel as if I can get into these boys in terms of getting one to one contact, just speak to them and try get the best out of them."

Rae has been out of work since the summer when he decided to leave Belgian side Genk, where he served as assistant manager to Alex McLeish.

The St Mirren job became vacant last Saturday when Ian Murray resigned after a run of just two wins in 16 games left the side eighth in the second tier.