St Johnstone: Guide to 2015-16 season
A profile of St Johnstone as part of a comprehensive guide to the 12 top-flight teams ahead of the 2015-16 Scottish Premiership season.
Setting achievable targets and aiming higher will be at the forefront of Tommy Wright’s plans to make even more progress with St Johnstone this season.
The Perth outfit, who have been in the Scottish Premiership’s top-six for four consecutive seasons, finished fourth last term following an impressive end to the campaign of just three defeats in 16 league games.
The additional luxury of European football was guaranteed when Inverness won the Scottish Cup but their excursion was merely a brief affair with the Saints crashing out in the first qualifying round at the hands of Armenian outfit Alashkert.
Despite their lofty position in 2014-15 and a solid defence, replacing the goalscoring instincts of 27-goal Stevie May proved too difficult with Saints scoring just 34 times in 38 league matches – only relegated St Mirren had a lower tally.
One of the most disappointing moments of their otherwise excellent season was the tame surrender of the Scottish Cup with their defence over no sooner than it had begun at the first hurdle against Championship side Queen of the South.
With just one final appearance and major trophy to shout about in their 131-year existence, the Saints will hope to prove the 2014 triumph over Dundee United at Celtic Park wasn’t merely a one-off and accompany another steady league campaign with extended runs in both cup competitions.
Wright has stuck with the tried and tested when plotting his close-season moves in the transfer window and the likes of Liam Craig, Brad McKay and Motherwell’s top scorer last term John Sutton will bring top-flight knowledge which will allow the team to quickly gel.
Having recruited some familiar faces, there is no reason to suggest why the McDiarmid Park outfit cannot go one step further and ruffle the feathers of Aberdeen and Tayside rivals Dundee United, who many regard as the main challengers to Celtic’s domestic dominance.
