The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The only way is up with Saints gaffer targeting European qualification
The goal for St Johnstone over the next four league games is a simple one – set-up a last day fifthplace decider against Livingston.
The gap between Saints and their Betfred Cup final opponents is four points going into the post-split phase of the Premiership campaign.
If they can whittle it down to two at the most, it will be a case of job done for the Perth men going into a head-to-head that will more than likely have a place in the Europa Conference League on the line.
With Saints this weekend hosting a struggling Aberdeen side who will be without Callum Hendry, their only goalscorer in 11 games, and Livingston away to Celtic, there is an opportunity to get off to a flying start.
“The aim is to give ourselves a chance going into the last game against Livingston,” said manager Callum Davidson.
“If fifth place is grabs that will really exciting end season.
“It’s a tough ask because it’s very hard to pick up points when you’re playing the top five sides in the country, and two of them are Rangers and Celtic.
“But we’ll give it our best shot.
“It doesn’t really matter what order the games come in.
“The fact that we’ve got Scottish Cup games mixed in as well is good because it will keep things fresh.”
The higher up the table Saints can get, the bigger the prize money.
For a manager hoping to keep his cup-winning squad largely intact, every penny helps.
“The better we do, the more it benefits the club,” said Davidson.
“If we finish fifth will it help me get more money? up for be a to the
“Hopefully. We want to keep players at the club and bring a few new ones in.”
Saints have built up a reputation as a club that pushes hard to the end rather than falls over the line when they have made the top six – apart from the 2011-12 season under Steve Lomas, as Davidson clearly recalls.
“When I was playing and we got into the top six we lost every game!” he said.
“Since then there have been some strong finishes at the club.
“We don’t have the crowds but we’ve got the big teams to play, which is great.
“It’s a brilliant achievement to get into the top six and these games are ones to look forward to and enjoy.
“We certainly it for granted.
“We’ll try and win as many games as we can and hopefully that will be enough to finish fifth.”
Whatever happens next, whether Saints have had a successful season or not is a one-sided debate.
Davidson, though, finds it trickier to assess if the players have exceeded his own expectations of what they could achieve in a debut season as a head coach.
“It’s said.
“I had belief in my players and my backroom staff.
“At St Johnstone the first objective has always been to stay in the league. That will never change.
“The basic principles are to work hard and be in the Premiership the next a hard don’t take one,” he season. Then you look to see how high you can get.
“The boys have been brilliant, especially from about November.
“To win a cup and get top six is an unbelievable achievement.”
Meanwhile, defender Aaron Steele is the latest youngster to be loaned out for the rest of the season. He has joined East Fife. “We have been working really hard with all the young players to get them some games,” said Davidson.
“It is really difficult so it is good for Aaron to get out and experience league football.
“We will be watching him closely, like we do with all our loan players.
“He is an out-and-out defender, a Frazer Wright type. That is something I like to see.”