Loyalty has been rewarded – Mackay

St Johnstone are now reaping the rewards of staying loyal to Callum Davidson during last season’s relegation battle.

That’s according to his former colleague Dave Mackay – himself a Scottish Cup-winning captain with the Perth side.

Post-playing career, Davidson went on to be part of the management team that guided Mackay and team-mates to their first Scottish Cup win back in 2014.

After taking full control, he then masterminded an unprecedented cup double. And Mackay, now assistant to James Mcpake at Dunfermline, reckons his historic exploits earned him the benefit of the doubt when things were tough.

“I was at Dundee last season and we were struggling at the time and Callum was in a similar position with St Johnstone,” said Mackay.

“Especially coming off the back of such a successful season the year before, I think that bought him time.

“Rightly so, because it was such an incredible season. It’s so difficult to come out and replicate that again. Especially when you’re losing some of your best players: Ali Mccann, Jason Kerr – just to name a couple.

“David Wotherspoon was out injured for most of the season. So it was a difficult season, but I always felt Stevie Brown and the directors would have backed him.

“As long as they stayed up last season I felt he’d get a fair crack at it again this year. To be fair, they’ve recruited really well and it’s a great start to the season. So I’m delighted for Callum, Stevie Maclean and Alec Clelland.

“It just shows that sometimes you just have to stick by it, drown out the noise from the outside and trust your manager and the coaches you’ve put in place.

“The club has stuck by him and they’ve got their rewards.”