St Johnstone

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The SPFL confirmed attendances have risen for a third consecutive season and thanked fans for their "incredible support".

Crowds across all leagues, cups and play-off matches totalled more than 5.3 million, a rise of nearly 185,000 from the 2023-24 season.

"We will be having further meetings with key stakeholders over the summer to review the most recent season and look ahead to 2025-26," the SPFL statement ends.

"We remain committed to ensuring a safe and enjoyable matchday experience for players and supporters - they are the lifeblood of our game and deserve nothing less."

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Dundee have become Drey Wright's third Scottish Premiership club, with the English utility man saying Dens Park felt "a good fit for me" after leaving relegated St Johnstone.

The 30-year-old, who played in defence, midfield and the wing during his time in Perth, has signed a two-year contract.

He becomes new head coach Steven Pressley's second signing of the day following the arrival of compatriot Paul Digby following his exit from Cambridge United.

Wright told Dundee's website: "I'm excited about the direction the club is going."

Having started his career with Colchester United, the Londoner began the first of two spells with St Johnstone in 2018 and then had two seasons with Hibernian before returning to Perth.

Last season, he made 38 appearances, all but one as a starter, as Saints finished bottom of the Premiership.

Meanwhile, midfielder Charlie Reilly has signed a new one-year contract with Dundee despite being restricted to eight substitute appearances last season.

Since arriving from Albion Rovers in June 2023, the 23-year-old Scot has had loan spells to Arbroath and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, for whom he only managed one appearance at the start of the last campaign.

He told the club website: "The past two years haven't gone the way I wanted in terms of injuries and game time, but hopefully this year I can show the best of me."

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Midfielder Graham Carey has joined recently-promoted Livingston following his departure from St Johnstone.

The 36-year-old was a regular in the Perth side last term as they suffered Scottish Premiership relegation, scoring four goals in 34 appearances.

But he will continue to play top-flight football next season after becoming David Martindale's second summer signing following the arrival of Connor McLennan.

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Assistant manager Andy Kirk and first-team coach Alex Cleland are to leave St Johnstone as part of a restructuring of the football department following relegation to the Championship.

Cleland joined in 2009 for the club's return to the top flight and was on the coaching staff for the three cup triumphs as well as filling in as interim boss on occasion.

Kirk moved to Saints in November 2023 as assistant to Craig Levein and also had a spell in interim charge.

The club say they will provide a further update "in due course".

Stevie May has admitted he faces an uncertain summer after the 32-year-old striker was released by relegated St Johnstone and with his loan deal to promoted Livingston at an end. (The Courier), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Relegated St Johnstone have continued their squad revamp by adding Raith Rovers forward Jamie Gullan on a two-year deal.

Gullan, 25, spent a year with League of Ireland side Dundalk before returning to Rovers in January where he scored four goals in 18 appearances.

"I am over the moon to be here. As soon as the club were in touch and I had chats with the gaffer, I just wanted to get things done as quickly as possible," said Gullan.

"I am looking forward to working under him. Hopefully he can improve me as a player and hopefully I can help improve the squad too."

Gullan is Saints' third new recruit this week after the arrival of Morton defenders Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes.

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St Johnstone have signed Morton defender Morgan Boyes on a two-year deal.

The 24-year-old Liverpool academy graduate made 36 appearances for Morton last season and is a former Wales Under-21 international.

Boyes is the second Morton defender to join St Johnstone this week after Jack Baird also swapped Greenock for Perth as Simo Valakari's relegated side prepare for life in the Championship.

"As soon as the gaffer made the call and explained the plan, I was really excited, I can't wait to get going," said Boyes.

"I have played against St Johnstone a few times. It was never a nice feeling going there as an away team - and that is how we want it now.

"I'm a versatile defender and I'll play where the gaffer needs me. I'm confident on the ball but happy to do the dirty side of the game too."

St Johnstone are close to signing two players from soon-to-be Scottish Championship rivals - 24-year-old Greenock Morton defender Morgan Boyes and 25-year-old Raith Rovers forward Jamie Gullan. (The Courier, external - subscription required)

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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Sven Sprangler says "Perth is like home" after the Austrian midfielder signed a two-year contract extension to stay at St Johnstone until summer 2027.

The 30-year-old, who joined in 2023, made 38 appearances last season as Saints were relegated from the top flight.

"I am absolutely delighted to be staying here for the next two seasons. Perth is like home for me," said Sprangler.

"I am grateful to the gaffer and the club for this opportunity. Like every game, I will give everything for this club.

"I am looking forward to the new season and hopefully it is a successful campaign for us. It is a new challenge. We need to try and create a winning culture."

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St Johnstone have secured the signing of Greenock Morton captain Jack Baird.

The defender will pen a two-year deal when his contract at Cappielow expires this summer.

The centre-back says he is "absolutely over the moon" to join the Perth side, who have just been relegated from the top flight.

"In my opinion, St Johnstone are a Premiership club," Baird said. "It is a club I want to play for and I am excited to get started."

Looking ahead to the challenge of the Scottish Championship next season, Baird added: "In terms of the league, it is a really difficult one to play in.

"It seems to get harder every year. I have played in it for nine seasons, this season coming will be my 10th.

"I know what to expect from the league and I hope I can now help St Johnstone with this transition."

Relegated St Johnstone have lined up Greenock Morton captain Jack Baird as an early summer signing with the 29-year-old centre-back now out of contract with the Scottish Championship club. (The Courier), external

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari says the failure to sell Benji Kimpioka in January was a double blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation as the club were deprived of much-needed transfer funds when none of the moves proved to the striker's liking and then the 25-year-old top scorer emotionally checked out for the rest of the season. (The Courier), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

St Johnstone midfielder Victor Griffith, the 24-year-old Panama international who signed an 18-month contract in January, has pledged to stay with the Perth club and help bring them back to the Scottish Premiership. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

Sam Miller
Fan writer

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

While relegation has felt like a looming possibility for the past three seasons, marked by constant changes in management, ownership, and player acquisitions, we should remember the incredible first 13 years back in the top flight.

That period was arguably the finest in St Johnstone's history, with half of those seasons ending in a top-six finish.

We also celebrated two Scottish Cup victories, a League Cup win and six European qualifications, including memorable results against Rosenborg and Galatasaray.

For a generation of supporters, this level of success has been the norm. However, those of us over 30 know first-hand that escaping the second tier can be a challenging endeavour.

With pre-season just six weeks away and half the squad already departed (the remainder potentially following suit if wage reductions aren't accepted), a significant rebuild is on the horizon. Only time will tell if a solid plan is in place to address this.

Personally, I'm not filled with sadness about relegation. The football has been difficult to watch since our cup-winning legends were broken up.

This feels like the right moment to hit the reset button, build a team capable of dominating the Championship, and hopefully secure a few more cup wins in the next decade.

We've achieved promotion and cup wins before, and we have the spirit to do it again. COYS.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari says he had to release 16 players from his squad because his side had "become used to losing" on their way to relegation and he hopes transfer-listed Josh Rae can also return permanently to Raith Rovers, where the 24-year-old goalkeeper had been on loan. (The Courier), external

Raith Rovers could make a move for Josh Rae after the goalkeeper was made available for transfer by St Johnstone. (The Courier), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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St Johnstone chief executive Francis Smith says the club's American owner Adam Webb has "no regrets at all" about getting involved, despite his first season at the helm ending in relegation.

US businessman Adam Webb took control at McDiarmid Park last summer. However, despite replacing manager Craig Levein with Simo Valakari last October, the club finished bottom and will play in the second tier next season for the first time in 16 years.

"No regrets at all, Adam and the investors are focused on making this club great again," Smith told BBC Scotland.

"So they are going to work hard, the ones that are on the board will work with us other directors to make sure the club continues to be a sustainable model.

"We want to get through the [next] season without making too much of a loss because we want to make sure that when we come back to the Premiership we are focused and ready to fight for top six."

Smith added: "Nobody has made a boob, they bought the club, they said at the start they are in here for the long haul.

"They are here to rebuild St Johnstone, build the infrastructure, give us the tools to be a successful club.

"It won't be this rebuild every year after year. Now we are at the bottom, we will rebuild and make it sustainable for the future."

Smith stressed the importance of getting promoted from the Championship at the first attempt and says Valakari will be given the tools to enable him to do that.

Since winning a remarkable domestic cup double four years ago, it has been a steady decline for St Johnstone, culminating in this season's relegation.

"We can only assess what we have been involved in, so we can only assess from August to now," said Smith.

"We have given extra money where we can, we have appointed a manager who has an enthusiastic approach to football, but again maybe it comes down to past recruitment and things like that that. Maybe we have not had the best players or the best value players to sell on.

"St Johnstone is a club that needs to bring in youth players that become either good assets on the park or sellable assets to allow us to work as a good sustainable club, that is what St Johnstone do.

"We will probably post a profit again this year from the Premiership and then going into the Championship we will look probably to make that loss.

"But we are focused on rebuilding the club, we have been making all these little changes around the stadium and the infrastructure and things like that and we have obviously backed Simo in January, we brought players in – was that too late? Potentially it was."

St Johnstone are set to hit Dundee with a £10,000 bill for damage caused to McDiarmid Park during Sunday's pitch invasion, the Perth club having found broken seats, graffiti and damage to the toilets in the areas housing the 3,000 visiting fans. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Club legend Stevie May is one of 21 players set to leave St Johnstone this summer following their relegation to the Scottish Championship.

Forward May, who has spent this season on loan with second-tier Livingston, has won two Scottish Cups and a League Cup across two spells, making 267 appearances for the club and scoring more than 60 goals.

Captain Nicky Clark and fellow first-team regulars Graham Carey and striker Benjamin Kimpioka are also departing McDiarmid Park.

Clark and Kimpioka both scored six Premiership goals this campaign, with Carey netting six across all competitions.

Including loan players, the full list of players moving on is: Carey, Clark, Arran Cocks, Barry Douglas, Alex Ferguson, Kimpioka, Bailey Klimionek, Max Kucheriavyi, Cammy MacPherson, May, Ben McCrystal, Adam McMillan, Liam Park, Dominic Shiels, Matt Smith, Kyle Thomson, Andy Fisher, Elliot Watt, Sam Curtis, Stephen Duke-McKenna and Zach Mitchell.

We asked for your views on relegated St Johnstone's end-of-season defeat at home to Dundee.

Here's what you had to say:

Willie: Difficult to judge this cobbled-up team. A massive rebuild is certainly required and has to be in place to hit the ground running in what will be a difficult challenge in the Championship.

Stuart: Sir Alex in his prime would struggle to build that team into something. I am glad to see the back of that season and a majority of that squad. Hopefully it's a short stay in the Championship and we come back fighting.

Duncan: The performance was disappointing given you think we had nothing to lose, but maybe we needed something to lose (like Dundee) to really fire us up. At least we saw some young members of the squad on show. To be honest I do feel we have a nucleus of a good squad but need more quality, and hopefully with a good pre-season and not the panic buys of the previous four windows we'll be in good shape to fight our way back up.

Steven: Be very interested to see the release/keep list. Big rebuild needed for the past three/four years and best placed to do it now a league down.

John: Simo Valakari should not be trusted to bring Saints back up, after all he is responsible for us being relegated. Some of the younger players should have been given more game time rather than wasting time with playing players out of position.

Watch highlights of Tony Docherty's final game in charge of Dundee as Lyall Cameron's double downs St Johnstone and secures the Dens Park side's safety.

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Have your say on the match

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "The quality was not there. That's how it has been and now we need to change that, make it better to be successful. We need to raise the levels and it comes through the hard work.

"From the start, we are the club who came down from the Premiership. We should be a favourite but it's up to us to be this favourite. Now it's even more pressure on us. You want to bounce back and it requires a different type of mentality."

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Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter at McDiarmid Park

It is the bigger picture that will be occupying the minds of the St Johnstone faithful and they will hope it won't be too long before they are dining back at Scottish football's top table.

Manager Simo Valakari has received the backing of the board and he will certainly be doing his utmost to make sure they return to the Premiership at the first attempt.

While that will be the main objective, the bigger goal at the club will be trying to find a way of halting what has been a gradual decline in recent times.

A lot of people have had their say, and offered their take, on what has gone wrong at the club since their remarkable domestic cup double four years ago.

The causes are likely multi-faceted but will need to be addressed soon to ensure a the desired rapid response.

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