The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Still ‘life in the old dog yet’: Anderson stays with Saints
Veteran knows youth is coming through – but still has much to give Perth side
Steven Anderson has vowed to hold back the years for a while yet after deciding to see out his career at St Johnstone.
The 32-year-old central defender, already a club legend after scoring the opener in Saints’ 2014 Scottish Cup win over Dundee United, has agreed a new two-year deal to stay at McDiarmid Park.
Twilight may be close to falling after 16 years at Saints but Anderson insists “there is life in the old dog yet”.
And he is backing himself to remain a candidate for Tommy Wright’s first team.
“I’m delighted to get my future sorted out,” said Anderson.
“It was a no-brainer after listening to the gaffer and his plans for the team going forward. We have had Jason Kerr and Liam Gordon breaking through and they are the future of the club.
“I am getting older so it is just a matter of time before they take my place but there is life in the old dog yet.
“I am as fit as I have ever been and luckily I have managed to steer clear of serious knee injuries down the years.
“My worst injuries have been to my eye socket and my thumb.
“We have lost guys like Chris Millar and Steven MacLean who have been great servants but they are a few years older than me. But you could say it’s a changing of the guard.
“It felt like the end of an era after the last game of the season against Ross County when Midge, Macca and (keeper) Alan Mannus took their final bows.
“Time moves on and it will come to me at some point – just not yet!”
The old season may have barely ended but Anderson is already looking forward to the 2018-19 campaign.
He said: “It is an exciting time for the club and we are going into the unknown in some respects.
“But hopefully the manager will have a few more signings up his sleeve and things will click and we will move on again. Everyone knows the budget here isn’t the biggest and clubs like Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers with Steven Gerrard coming in, Hibs and Hearts will be spending big again I’m sure.”
He continued: “The highlight of my years here was winning the Scottish Cup four years ago but we have over-achieved for years in the league.
“It was disappointing missing out on the top six last season but you look at Partick Thistle making the top six and then being relegated.
“That shows how well we have done in recent years to be so consistent.
“We aren’t the biggest of spenders but hopefully we can get back into the top six and prove the doubters wrong again.”
Meanwhile, Jason Kerr may not have the profile of some of his defensive peers in Scotland but the Saints centre-back is already catching the eye of bigger clubs, manager Wright has revealed.
Kerr is on Scotland under-21 duty in Toulon and the Saints boss believes he deserves to be put in the “same bracket” as the likes of full internationals Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry.
“I see other young players getting a lot of mentions but Jason probably hasn’t had that,” said Wright.
“He has made a real impact here and is bound to attract attention. I know people have already been watching him. He is doing well and he is under contract here.
“In the future Scotland are not going to have to worry about centre-backs with guys like Jason, Scott McKenna at Aberdeen, Jack Hendry at Celtic and John Souttar at Hearts. “He is in that bracket, without a doubt. “Jason will have a busy summer with Scotland at the Toulon tournament. “It will be a new experience for him. “He will come up against different types of players at under-21 level and that can only help his development further.”