I knew Saints would go on to bigger things
Goran says he saw the signs in his Perth days
Thirteen years have passed since he last laced up his boots at McDiarmid Park.
But you can guarantee the Skopje St Johnstone Supporters Club will be tuning in for Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.
Goran Stanic, the footballing magician from Macedonia, loved his time in Perth. Absolutely loved it. So much so he continues to keep right up to date with the latest happenings at Saints.
“I am still a big supporter,” Stanic reveals. “In my heart I will always be St Johnstone.
“I follow them on TV and watch the games when possible. I read the articles on the internet and I’m so glad they won the League Cup this year and the Scottish Cup before. I hope they are going to do the same again.”
Stanic speaks like a proud fan when talking through the Premiership and cup success of recent times. Yet he has not been surprised.
The former left-sided full-back sensed there was something special bubbling under the surface when he was pulling on the club’s colours between 2005 and 2008. Despite being in Division One throughout that time, Stanic knew it wouldn’t last forever.
“I’m not surprised,” he chuckles. “In my time there were signs that the club was going to be a Premier League one.
“We missed promotion on the last day in 2007 but the Brown family has done everything so well. I expected St Johnstone to get to the level they are playing at now.”
There is no hint of jealousy to Stanic’s words when discussing feats that the current crop of Perth stars have been able to achieve. He came close to Scottish Cup glory himself on two back-to-back semi-final occasions at Hampden Park.
First, in 2007, he played a key role in helping Saints into the last four of the competition thanks to a 2-1 quarter-final win away at Motherwell. He superbly worked to the byline and teed-up Jason Scotland to nod in the second at Fir Park.
“It was a great night for us,” Stanic recalls. “First of all I would say that in that moment we were like a family.
“All that I can say is that it was a really enjoyable night for the players, staff and the people who worked with the club.
“The most important thing was that it was a really enjoyable time for the supporters.
“I think the situation is the same now at St Johnstone. We just enjoyed playing every single minute at that time.
“Everything was fun and we showed we could play against Premier League teams.”
The dream that year was ended by Celtic in the last four. Despite a Martin Hardie leveller, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink netted a double at the national stadium.
Stanic, who made 127 appearances, continues: “We just lost against Celtic in that semi-final. It was a tough game for them as well.
“The second goal they scored was from a corner kick and in the last 10 minutes we really pushed for the equaliser. Before the game we felt we could go through to the final. We always played 100 per cent and, to be honest, we never felt like underdogs in the dressing room.
“Maybe for other supporters in Scotland, on paper we were the underdogs. But we never felt like that. We were really confident playing against the bigger teams and we proved we could play against them.
“I remember in one newspaper they were saying St Johnstone had Premier League players who compete in the First Division.
“The important thing was that we never felt like the underdogs against any team in Scotland.
“Our team was not about individuals. It was all about team spirit. All of the results we achieved in the years I was with St Johnstone were about that.”
That team spirit continued to conjure up success and just the following year Saints, still in Division One, were back at Hampden for another Scottish
Cup semi-final.
This time it was a heartbreaking