The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tanser wants to stay longer at ‘best club he’s been at’
Full-back wants Tommy Wright to deal him in for the long term
St Johnstone’s Scott Tanser admits he is desperately keen to sign a contract extension at the best club he has ever been at.
The 23-year-old former Port Vale and Rochdale defender joined Saints last June and has now made 24 appearances for Tommy Wright’s side.
The full-back was in the starting lineup once again on Wednesday night to help St Johnstone beat Hamilton and all but extinguish any lingering fears of being dragged into a relegation battle.
Tanser’s deal is up at the end of this campaign and he admits he would like nothing better than to extend his time at McDiarmid.
He said: “I want to stay here next season. There have been talks about signing a new contract and I would like to get that done as soon as possible.
“This is the best club I have been at and I have loved it this season.
“It has been a delight being here. Everyone around me has helped make me a better player over the last year.
“When you go to some clubs they do things differently but everyone is together here, there are no outcasts in our squad. That’s not just the squad but the whole club.
“In the past I’ve been to clubs where the dressing-room is split into the older ones and the younger ones. But it’s not like that here – everyone is in it together and there is a real spirit among everyone.
“Obviously the supporters get on your back at times like they do at every club but that’s part and parcel of football and in the main everyone has been great.”
Just a week after signing his initial deal with St Johnstone, Tanser was thrown in at the deep end for the club’s Europa League game against FK Trakai.
He admitted it was a shock to the system as he was used to a much longer summer break down south.
While disappointed that Saints have missed out on Europe for next season, he is sure his team-mates will benefit from the extra time off and come back with batteries fully recharged.
Tanser added: “We look back at a few games this season and it’s frustrating because we know we could have done much better.
“There are games we didn’t win that we should have been winning. I wasn’t here last season or before, but I know how well the lads did in the past.
“The club has been in the top six for a lot of years and even if we miss out this season we will have a chance of doing it again next year. I think it has been hard on the lads not getting a break because of playing in Europe so often.
“I came in mid-June last year, which was strange for me because I have been used to getting five or six weeks’ break in the summer down in England.
“So it was a bit of a shock not getting much of a holiday, but getting a better break this summer can only help the lads recuperate. Hopefully that will make a difference for us next season because you need time to go away and relax.”