‘Saints still not safe from automatic relegation’
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson insisted his team were still not yet safe from automatic relegation after Jack Fitzwater’s late goal saw Livingston hold them to a 1-1 draw at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
The Livi defender scrambled home a 90th-minute leveller to cancel out Glenn Middleton’s back post header, leaving 11th-placed Saints six points clear of bottom-side Dundee with two games to go.
Saints’ goal difference is also seven better, but Davidson said the job was not done yet, although he admitted he has had an eye on a likely relegation playoff, a tie he wants to take momentum into.
Asked if he felt his side had done enough to stave off automatic relegation, he said: “No, I’m not that type of person – we need to make sure we go and put a good performance in against Aberdeen.
“We want good performances between now and the end of the season and if we get to the play-offs then we go in in a confident mood, with the players believing in what we are doing. I’ve already looked (at the play-offs) for the last 10 or 12 weeks, as I was hopeful we would get there. From where we were in January, I think we were five or six points behind Dundee and wanted to get to 10th and it’s not happened, so next it’s about how we stay in this league. St Johnstone don’t have a divine right to be in this league and we’re working hard because we’re desperate to stay in it.”
Livi boss David Martindale praised his players’ attitude as they chased an equaliser despite having little to play for as they sit in mid-table.