St Johnstone: How Callum Davidson's men are Scottish Cup final away from greatest season

St Johnstone will become the first non-Old Firm club since 1990 to win two major honours in the same season if they beat Hibernian on Saturday

Most fans of provincial clubs would settle for a domestic cup once a decade. Even then, that might be generous.

When St Johnstone won their first major honour under Tommy Wright in the 2014 Scottish Cup final, not many of their support would expect to see confetti cannons burst over their team less than seven years later.

Factor into that the thought of a cup double and European qualification in the same campaign, you are residing in fantasyland.

But how did the Perth side get to the point where one win would round off the 2020-21 season as their greatest ever?

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'A special time' - the inside view

There was an end of era feel about Wright's St Johnstone departure at the end of last season.

Not just in the sense the Northern Irishman's lengthy seven-year spell was coming to an end, but it was also a period of unprecedented success.

However, not even the most optimistic Saints fan could have foreseen what would follow in the first campaign post-Wright, with the Perth side going on to win the League Cup in February and secure a fifth-place finish in the league under rookie boss Callum Davidson.

"It's a special time," boyhood St Johnstone fan and midfielder David Wotherspoon says.

"It's something you dream about, winning trophies. To already have done that once this year is amazing. To do it twice would be incredible.

"It's something that would live in history forever and go down as one of the club's best seasons."

Seven years on from their first major trophy, St Johnstone have the chance to become only the third non-Old Firm club to win two domestic honours in the same season, with Hearts, in 1960, and Aberdeen, in 1990, the only sides to do so other than Celtic and Rangers.

Wotherspoon, who has started in both St Johnstone's cup triumphs, remembers the 2014 final win over Dundee United fondly.

"I still watch it back and you forget how good a day it was," he recalls. "It was such a blur at the time.

"You watch it back with great memories. It's something we want to replicate this weekend."

How 'resilience' turned season around

Despite St Johnstone enjoying arguably their finest season to date, it seems bonkers to think that all wasn't well at McDiarmid Park at the start of the campaign.

Just two wins in the opening 10 league games led to Davidson's men languishing at the foot of the table in early October, but how did they turn it around?

"We've shown a resilience and got back to where we want to be," Wotherspoon tells BBC Scotland.

Millwall loanee Danny McNamara was one of the shining lights in an underwhelming start to the season, prompting the English Championship club to recall the wing-back in January.

However, Davidson stuck to the same approach and formation by plugging the gap at right wing-back with in-house replacement Shaun Rooney, who has excelled in the role and complemented the outstanding centre-back trio of Liam Gordon, Jason Kerr and Jamie McCart.

Goals were hard to come by for Davidson's attack, who failed to hit the back of the net in eight of the first 12 Premiership games.

However, the October acquisition of Guy Melamed and the Israeli forward's steady introduction has given the Perth side's frontline a different dimension.

An improving and less predictable attack, combined with their resolute backline and Davidson's rigorous on-pitch coaching, means they have lost just four of their last 24 games in all competitions while picking up a League Cup on the way.

'Never in my wildest dreams' - the fan's perspective

Lifelong St Johnstone fan & BBC Radio Scotland's Off the Ball presenter Stuart Cosgrove

It's [cup double] never been something I've imagined would happen in my wildest dreams. It feels unbelievable. But, if you look at it through another lens, Callum [Davidson] has pulled together a very efficient and well-organised side. He's been absolutely immense.

I didn't think another cup win would come around as quickly. After 2014, you'd hear a lot of people say that one every 10 years would do, but no-one had the guts to say one every two or three years would!

We're so used to having Perth mocked, with the lack of crowds and support, but if you go into the town now, I bet every single shop window will have a Saints display. There's a real community enthusiasm and a lot of love for the club locally.