Don’t be too shocked if Wright pulls off another famous result

Even before Rangers’ calamitous result in Luxembourg the debates had already started about summer football, the technical deficiencies of Scottish players and all the other perceived shortcomings of our game.

St Johnstone’s defeat to FK Trakai on their own patch in their Europa League first round qualifier set the hare running.

If you suffer a defeat in the early stages to a team nobody in this country had heard of (even though they might actually be pretty good) you get caught up in the bigger picture ruminations.

It has become an early summer tradition.

One thing should be pointed out before the scalpels dig too deep for this particular post mortem however – St Johnstone haven’t actually been knocked out yet.

A 2-1 loss at home was a disappointment but, now that the post-match frustrations have passed, it isn’t just clutching at straws to make a case for Saints success here in Vilnius.

When we see a team like Trakai pass and move as they did at McDiarmid it’s understandable that they are looked upon as some sort of footballing higher force. But, as easy on the eye as their style of play was, Saints’ less intricate build-up method was actually more effective in producing chances.

The more you watch the Graham Cummins one, the worse it gets. Also, a post was hit and two other 12-yard shots were skied over, while Zander Clark had one proper save to make all game.

Trakai have a keeper who wouldn’t get near a Scottish top flight starting line-up, while their back four would probably be found out over the course of a season as well.

And there’s every chance that feeling rather good about themselves after bringing home a one-goal advantage will stray the wrong side of confidence into complacency for the Trakai players.

Of course they are favourites but Saints have overcome bigger obstacles than this.

Tommy Wright has been given plenty of post-match opportunities down the years to speak about his team proving the doubters wrong.

Don’t be shocked if he does so again.