EASTON HAS EURO VISION
St Johnstone defender Brian Easton wants to create as many memorable moments in a Perth jersey as possible.
And that’s why the 29-year-old is determined to continue the McDiarmid Park success story and fight for fourth place in the Scottish Premiership.
It’s a position which is likely to secure European football this summer, with only a Scottish Cup win for Hibernian ending that outcome.
Saints have guided themselves into fourth place at present and Easton admits he would love another crack at Europe.
“Europe is what you want,” Easton told the Perthshire Advertiser. “All the fans would obviously love it.
“As a player, even though it cuts your holidays short, it doesn’t matter. Everyone wants to experience it and look back on their career to remember European nights.
“You don’t mean to be disrespectful to Hibs, but Celtic are so strong this season. And even if they get knocked out of the cup there is Rangers or Aberdeen.
“Hopefully we can do enough to secure fourth but there is still a long way to go and loads of work to be done.
“Even last year we finished fourth and it was unfortunate the Scottish Cup winners weren’t someone already in Europe. But this year looks more likely.
“If it is between ourselves and Hearts we will definitely go toe-to-toe with them. They play Celtic and then come to McDiarmid so it’s a massive
Brian Easton wants to savour European nights with the Saints couple of games for both teams. After the split you never know how many points you’re going to pick up. It’s important to put yourself in a good position.”
Easton reckons the Perth club will have become the envy of teams across the country after a number of European showings, continual top six placings and a Scottish Cup win.
But the consistent full-back insists Saints will never get ahead of themselves.
He added: “I’m sure there will be so many clubs looking at us and wondering how we do it. But it’s testament to everyone involved with the club - the players we’ve had over the years, current squad, the coaching staff and guys behind the scenes.
“Everything seems to come together so well and top six is a brilliant achievement. We still have plenty to play for but it’s something we can be proud of.
“I think if you asked any other team outside of St Johnstone in Scotland who we’ve played, they hate it. We never know when we are beaten and we know how to hold on.
“If it turns into a bit of a dog-fight then we aren’t the team you want to be up against. We need to set our sights on going forward now.”