Missing out on top six shows how good we’ve been – Wright

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright believes missing out on the top six should highlight the club’s past achievements.

There is a feeling, including among some fans, that this season has been something of a failure for Saints because they won’t be fighting it out with the likes of Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers when the Premiership splits in two after this weekend.

That is, of course, a notion that doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny when you compare the Perth club’s financial clout with most of the other teams in the division.

Above all, to have finished in the upper half of the table six seasons in a row is a feat that should be a serious source of pride rather than used to somehow diminish what has happened this time around.

Saints are now poised to battle it out with tomorrow’s opponents Motherwell for seventh spot and Wright feels that this campaign really should be put into some kind of perspective.

He said: “I know I won’t be able to convince anyone outwith the club because they have already made their minds up that this has been a terrible season.

“People are basing it on what we have done before and I understand that.

“Now we have missed out on the top six, it’s actually allowed us to reflect on how well we have done being in there for six years in a row.

“Other clubs have done it once or twice and then gone back into the bottom six. We know how hard it is to achieve.

“Also the league has got stronger this season so we have to look at how we improve. For us, it’s now a case of sitting down and calmly planning how to get better.

“We want to have a clear plan and a clear focus on the type of player we bring in over the summer. Seventh place is there for us to aim for now and if we get that I would class that as a successful season.”

Wright is expecting his team to get a physical test from the Steelmen at Mcdiarmid tomorrow but that is something he will relish.

He said: “The games with Motherwell have been close this season and the one at Perth was eventful at the start of the season.

“In the game down at their place we started well but had a shocker of a second half.

“They played at a tempo and bullied us a little bit, which is something I don’t often say.

“Motherwell are a good side and they have strong physical players but they are also good players.

“I like the way they play, they have a nice blend of experience and good young players coming through. They have a system that suits them and works well for them.

“We had a poor performance against Aberdeen so we need to put that behind us and get back to what we were like against Hamilton.

“In every game you have to match the opposition, whether that is physically or the tempo they play at.

“So we will have to go out and try to impose ourselves on the game and be on the front foot.”

Tommy Wright says league is stronger this year.