diff --git a/scripts/suricatasc/Makefile.am b/scripts/suricatasc/Makefile.am
index b63a837b09..5e49455673 100644
--- a/scripts/suricatasc/Makefile.am
+++ b/scripts/suricatasc/Makefile.am
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ EXTRA_DIST = setup.py suricatasc.in src/__init__.py src/suricatasc.py
 
 if HAVE_PYTHON
 all-local:
+	mkdir -p $(top_builddir)/scripts/suricatasc/src
 	$(PYTHON) $(srcdir)/setup.py build;
 
 install-exec-local:
@@ -15,4 +16,7 @@ uninstall-local:
 	[ ! -f "$(DESTDIR)$(prefix)/bin/suricatasc" ] || rm -f "$(DESTDIR)$(prefix)/bin/suricatasc"
 	find "$(DESTDIR)$(prefix)/lib" -name "suricatasc-*.egg-info" -delete ||true
 
+distclean-local:
+	-rm -rf $(top_builddir)/scripts/suricatasc/src
+
 endif