Better, but still not good enough
Speaking to Jim Goodwin after Sunday’s disappointing defeat was like chalk and cheese compared to following the club’s gutting loss to Livi in the semi- finals of the Betfred Cup.
In that particular game, the Buddies hardly showed up.
They were timid, set up too defensively and lacked the urgency and belief required to make the finals of major trophies.
Sunday’s loss to St Johnstone was a marked improvement on that dismal day, and Goodwin felt that.
While his side ultimately ended up losing out, they created a host of gilt-edged chances against one of the best defences in the league.
They were also robbed of the chance to open the scoring in the first half from the penalty spot, with Jamie McGrath almost odds on to score if Willie Collum had whistled as he should have.
That’s what made Sunday’s loss all the more tough to take.
The Buddies did so much right in the game, only to be undone by their Achilles heel.
In front of goal, they’ve simply not been clinical enough.
Admittedly some of the big decisions Goodwin made backfired.
It’s easy to say in retrospect, but removing Richard Tait at wingback for winger Dylan Connolly was always going to leave the Buddies more exposed on that left flank. That’s exactly where Glenn Middleton found space to cross for St Johnstone’s opener.
The decision to leave last season’s top scorer Jon Obika on the bench in place of Collin Quaner came back to haunt spectacularly, although no-one could have predicted the striker would be quite so profligate in front of goal.
At the end of the day, Goodwin’s performance as a manager improved as did his players overall.
While they’re still not quite at the level required to make the top six in the league or the finals of major competitions, once again it’s steady progress for the Saints.
I don’t think you can ask for much more than that in this most remarkable of seasons.