The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Anderson hopes to make it 250-plus
Amid break-up of Scottish Cup-winning squad, record appearance holder hopes to stay being a Saint for now
Steven Anderson will make his 250th top flight appearance for St Johnstone today.
And the veteran defender is hopeful there “are many more to come” yet.
The break-up of Saints’ Scottish Cupwinning side will continue in the summer, with Alan Mannus and Steven Maclean joining the likes of Frazer Wright and Dave Mackay in moving on.
Anderson, though, has the option of a year to extend the deal which runs out in a few weeks and he revealed there is a good chance he will be at Mcdiarmid Park for another campaign.
“It’s another milestone for me and hopefully there are many more to come,” said the 32-year-old, who is the club’s record appearance holder.
“I do have a year’s option on my contract. We have games still to play and that is the priority just now. But I like it here and there is every chance I will still be here next season.”
Anderson has backed Tommy Wright to ensure the inevitable freshening-up of his squad in the close season will not affect a dressing room that will soon be without some familiar faces.
“There will be big characters leaving at the end of the season,” he said.
“Guys like Steven Maclean and Alan Mannus, so there will be changes over the summer. We’ll have younger guys coming through and they have to step up.
“The manager will be bringing in players and as usual doing his due diligence. He will be making sure his signings fit into the dressing room here. Players will know what they are coming into.
“Changes are part and parcel of football. You go through changes at any football club.
“I have been fortunate. I have been here 14 years so I have seen a lot of players – and managers – come and go during that time. It will be my time to go sooner or later. I’m not getting any younger.”
One of the younger players who has made himself a first team regular since returning from a loan spell at Queen of the South has been fellow centre-back Jason Kerr.
Anderson said: “Jason is a real prospect. He still has a lot to learn but he has attracted attention and rightly so in his first season at this level.
“It’s about keeping it going now and he could move on to bigger and better things.
“Jason is very good on the ball. He is a big boy as well. He has attributes to be playing at the top level. Liam Gordon is also a very good defender. Guys like them are the future for the club.”
Today’s opponents Partick Thistle have a greater need of points than Saints but Anderson is determined there will be a strong Perth finish to the season.
“It’s a big game for Thistle but we want to finish as high up the table as possible,” he pointed out.
“It’s a matter of professional pride and it also means more money for the club.
“We are definitely not thinking of downing tools. We have to finish as high as possible.
“People are saying we have had a poor season because we didn’t make the top six again.
“But this is a transitional period for the club and we have had injuries, so it’s not been too bad.
“Maybe fans here have been spoilt, given the success we have enjoyed and given the budget here.
“It has been top six regularly, even top three and we have won the Scottish Cup.
“It’s not easy sustaining it at a club this size, as Partick have found after finishing in the top six last season.”
Murray Davidson is suspended, with Blair Alston, Chris Kane and Brian Easton injured. Callum Hendry and David Mcmillan are unlikely to feature.
Partick manager Alan Archibald has no fresh injuries for the trip to Mcdiarmid. The Jags boss declared an almost clean bill of health in the wake of last week’s 2-1 home win over Hamilton.
Midfielder Stuart Bannigan remains a long-term absentee.
Keeper Tomas Cerny, who will make his 100th appearance for the Jags, said: “It is a big game for the club and we have to do our best to win it.
“The most important thing at the moment is to prepare for every game and do the same as we did last week. It was a much better performance last Saturday and finally we got the three points.
“Things don’t happen on their own, we have to make them happen.”