The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mahon tipped for greatness in Perth
John Mahon gave St Johnstone fans a taste of what’s to come next season, with a magnificent performance in the Premiership status-saving play-off triumph over Inverness Caley Thistle.
The all-or-nothing second leg was the Irishman’s first home start for Saints since signing in January.
Manager Callum Davidson believes the nearflawless high-pressure display bodes well for the 2022-23 campaign, by which time Jamie McCart will almost certainly have moved on and Mahon will be feeling the benefit of a full pre-season.
A young, defensive spine of a reshaped team is coming together.
“For a man of 22 to come into the team for such a big game and play the way he did was brilliant,” said Davidson.
“You’d never have known it was John’s first home game and I’m really pleased for him. He’s shown promise since he came over and we’ve got high hopes for John.
“He’s a young defender and when you add in Dan Cleary and Liam Gordon in their mid-20s as well as James Brown at 24, we have a good mix there.
“They are all young with improvement still to come from them.
“We’ve got a good nucleus at the core of our team moving forward.”
At the other end of the career scale, as Mahon’s capabilities were shining under the McDiarmid Park spotlight, Liam Craig was signing off as a player.
The club appearance record holder will now transition into a behindthe-scenes role and Davidson wanted to put on record his appreciation of a true St Johnstone great.
“Liam’s hanging his boots up,” said the Perth boss.
“He was actually going to come on at the end but the game finished before we could do it.
“What a servant he’s been for St Johnstone.
“He’s obviously got the record number of appearances and he’s a fantastic guy to have around the place.
“Liam was going around the boys to speak to them before the start of the second half.
“I had to get him to calm down a few times during the game because he was shouting at the referee all the time.
“That just shows his passion for this club.
“All credit to him for the career he’s had.
“He’s a good friend of mine but more importantly, he’s a great professional who was always there for the team when I needed him.”