Football Season Guide

A competitive enough campaign for St Johnstone saw them finish in eighth place last season, but Tommy Wright will be looking for his side to make a slightly bigger impact this coming campaign. Whilst the Saints don't have the resources of Hibernian or Hearts, they've taken pride in their ability to pull top six places out of the bag over the years. Too ambitious a goal that may be this season, but Wright would love to see his side there or thereabouts come the end of the season. Many will claim that the St Johnstone manager has yet to replace some key players who departed last campaign. Alan Mannus, Matty Willock, Chris Millar, George Williams, and Keith Watson were all regulars in the team throughout 2017/18, with just Drew Wright and Matty Kennedy brought to operate in the midfield. One area that looks to have been sorted quite nicely is the replacement for Steven MacLean. MacLean moved to Hearts this summer, and he was the star-man for Saints in terms of goals over the last several years. Tony Watt will look to ensure he isn't too much of a miss, and the former Celtic wonder-kid looks to be a smart piece of business as he impresses in the Betfred Cup. Despite the loss of some good squad players, St Johnstone have so far been able to keep the core of their squad intact. Liam Gordon has been at the heart of the defence in the Betfred Cup alongside Steven Anderson, with Ricky Foster and Scott Tanser both still occupying the full-back roles. Wright's main concern ahead of the new season will be about getting some more able bodies in. The McDiarmid Park outfit still have strong starting XI, but at the moment there's not much beyond it. With Wright and Kennedy still to prove themselves, you can expect some strong activity from Saints before the end of the window.