St Johnstone

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Is the Scottish Premiership in need of a shake-up? If so, how do you go about it?

News emerged on Tuesday that the SPFL is considering changing Scotland's top flight to a 10, 14 or 16-team division in an attempt to help reduce fixture congestion.

In its current 12-team form, the clubs split into a top and bottom six after 33 rounds of matches, with 38 rounds played altogether.

That format has been in place since 2000-01 and retaining that model is also an option, but reports have also suggested the split could be scrapped.

For any fresh structure to pass, it needs the backing of 11 of the 12 Premiership clubs, and eight out of 10 from the Championship plus 75% of League One and League Two combined.

And judging by the fan reaction to the mere thought of reducing the league to a 10-team division, you would have to assume that idea is already unlikely.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, former Premiership players Cammy Bell and Cillian Sheridan provided their views on a potential restructure.

Expansion is the only option for former Rangers and Kilmarnock goalkeeper Bell, while ex-Celtic striker Sheridan would like to see the split retained.

"I think we need a little bit of freshness about our game," Bell said. "So, if we can expand that league, then absolutely do it. We've got big enough clubs now that can generate good crowds.

"We're at a time just now where we've got the potential of trying to change it and certainly for me it's got to be expansion."

"The split works now," Sheridan added. "When I first came over and saw the whole split thing, I just never really got it. But in the past few years it has been quite interesting.

"If the league is wrapped up, if relegation is wrapped up, it does add a little bit of excitement to things in terms of teams getting into the top six and having to get European football."

Dare Olufunwa is set for a move to Finland after St Johnstone agreed to release the 23-year-old defender. (The Courier), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Dare Olufunwa has left St Johnstone with immediate effect after his contract was "mutually terminated" by the club.

The 23-year-old defender arrived at McDiarmid Park in summer 2023 but struggled for game time under managers Steven MacLean, Craig Levein and now Simo Valakari and hasn't played for the club in over a year.

Olufunwa, who spent the first half of this season on loan at Hamilton, departs Perth having made 11 Saints appearances.

Watch all the highlights from Hibs' 3-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

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Simo Valakari insisted "nothing changes" for St Johnstone in their fight for survival, despite their 3-0 loss to Hibernian on Saturday.

Although the Saints have won five of their last 10 in all competitions, they still trail Dundee by five points and looked far from the resilient side of the last few weeks as they succumbed to a heavy defeat at Easter Road.

"Nothing changes," Valakari said. "We have been in this situation before many times.

"I take responsibility, we need to own this performance, we don't have any other option, as we haven't had in the last three months [since slipping to the bottom of the league]. We need to go again."

The Finn has won plaudits in the last few months, with draws against Aberdeen and Dundee helped by wins over Ross County, St Mirren and Motherwell.

"If we start feeling sorry for ourselves, if we start feeling frustrated, disappointed, angry, making excuses, then it's over, finito.

"That's why, boom, we go. I know my players will shake this off. They feel it, they hurt, of course, because they are good boys, they wanted to show in a nice stadium, in front of a lot of fans, how good they are, and we couldn't do it.

"We shake it off and we need to go again."

St Johnstone fans, we asked for your views on Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Hibs.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Saintee: Possession great but zero shots on goal. We are in a huge transitional period with new owners, manager, style of play and players themselves. It takes time to rebuild with the new vision. We couldn't lay a glove on Hibs.

Gordy: No future with Simo Valakari and certainly no way out of the Championship next season. Relegation is now a near certainty. His rigidity in tactics and player selection, particularly at the end of last year, was lamentable and nothing has changed.

Ian: That was as bad as it has been this season, it looks like we're going down with a whimper unless there is a dramatic turnaround. There was no purpose to our possession and passing, always going sideways and backwards from good positions. Passes don't win games, goals do. We need to remember that.

Greg: It wasn't a game we expected to win but the performance was nothing short of shocking. Tensions ran high at the end, with harsh words exchanged between fans and the manager. At this point, relegation feels almost inevitable.

Ally: Poor display from the team on the park. I don't think these players have the stomach for the fight, add to this the poor tactics and team selection by the manager and Championship football looks a certainty for next season.

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• Hibernian are undefeated in their last 15 games in the Premiership, their longest unbeaten streak in the competition (since at least 2013/2014).

• David Gray's side have scored in each of their last five games in the Premiership, scoring 11 goals in that run.

• Mykola Kuharevich attempted six shots in this game, the highest total for a Hibernian player in the Premiership this season.

• Martin Boyle has scored 10 goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other Hibernian player, as well as scoring in his last three games.

• Hibernian have won eight penalties in the Premiership this season, no team has won more.

• They have scored 12 goals via substitutes in the Premiership this season, only Celtic (19) have scored more.

• The Easter Road club are unbeaten in their last 24 Premiership matches when leading at half-time (W17, D7) dating back to 18 March 2023 against Celtic (L1-3).

• St. Johnstone have conceded 11 goals to opposition substitutes in the Premiership this season, only Dundee (13) have conceded more.

• St. Johnstone have failed to score a first-half goal in 23 of their 31 games, no team has failed to do so more often in the Premiership this season.

• The Saints did not attempt a single shot in the first half.

Saints fans, did you make the trip to the capital or were you following the action from home? What did you make of your team's performance? How are you feeling about your Premiership survival hopes.

Send us your thoughts on St Johnstone

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "I have no complaints [about the result] we did not play well enough to get anything out of the match.

"We didn't play at our best level today and we didn't get the result. We need to own this defeat and learn from it. We came here to win and to test ourselves and we weren't at a good enough level today. There's no point in feeling frustrated or angry because we didn't play well enough.

"We did not ask enough questions from the opponent. When we play like we played it was almost impossible today. We made the right decisions but maybe the execution was not there.

"Yes I'm frustrated for the players because they want to show they are good players and I know they are good players.

"We have a big, big fight ahead of us."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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For St Johnstone they have seven cup finals between now and the end of the season but they simply cannot afford to give away the type of goals they lost to Hibernian.

Performances like the one today will simply not be good enough and on this evidence it will be a really tough end of the campaign for Saints fans.

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Hibernian are still without Nicky Cadden (hamstring) and Joe Newell (pelvis).

Long-term injury victims Uche Ikpeazu, Bozo Mikulic (both knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) are missing for St Johnstone.

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Skipper Sven Sprangler's "love" for St Johnstone is fuelling his drive to keep them in the Premiership.

The Austrian midfielder has let Saints get under his skin since joining in September 2023.

"Since day one, I love to be part of the club, I love to be part of the city," Sprangler, 29, said.

"The training, the lads, the people around the club, everyone, I love them. Now it's like a family here, it's my second family.

"Everyone I know from the changing room is passionate about it. If we lose, everyone is disappointed, but if we win, it's so much better.

"Everyone loves to be here. Everyone gives everything for the gaffer, for the club, for the city."

Despite Saints sitting five points adrift at the bottom with eight games remaining, Sprangler insists the squad are full of belief as they target victory at Hibs on Saturday.

"Everyone is positive. Everyone believes, and a lot of that comes from our training staff," he said.

"The gaffer brings so much energy to us and on every training session we give everything and we put every effort in to improve as players and as a team.

"We have the quality in our dressing room, and if we are doing the right things I still believe that everything is possible.

"I know what the lads are capable of, and everyone is still positive in the changing room.You see in every game the support from the fans, it's massive. Now we keep fighting until the end."

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Simo Valakari says he has "never, ever thought about" St Johnstone being relegated this season despite their perilous position at the bottom of the Premiership.

After a dismal run of mid-season form that saw them take just two points from a possible 27 through December and early 2025, the Perth side have picked up and suffered just two defeats in 10 games across all competitions.

That gap at the bottom - which stood at nine points in January - is now down to five and Saints also have a Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic looming next month.

Asked if there was ever a point he feared his side were heading for the drop, Valakari, whose side visit Hibs on Saturday, said: "No. I can say, bottom of my heart, never, ever thought about it, because that time when we were there [nine points adrift], there were still so many games.

"And you think about three wins, three points, get them a couple in a row, it changes everything in this league, because you almost always play against your direct opponent.

"You win, you take the points out of them, you add these three points [to your tally] so, no, no, no. And still it is so many games left that anything can happen."

Valakari says he was always confident the squad would be able to turn their form around, but knows the job is far from complete.

He added: "It is hard to explain it [the upturn in form] here, because you didn't see the results during December, but I saw the players all the time in training, and I saw how much attitude, energy, they had to turn things around.

"Of course, it is not easy when you are not getting the results, going the next day again, again, again. But our players, they did it. They kept doing, doing, doing. And then, for me, it was just a matter of time before we started getting these results, and it happened.

"I was so happy for the players and the fans that we started to get these results and seeing a little bit of smile in everybody's face. But we are still far away from where we want to be, and that's why we have to keep pushing."

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• Hibs are joint top of the Scottish Premiership this season for both points gained from losing positions (13, level with Kilmarnock) and points dropped from winning positions (20, level with Dundee).

• Hibs have alternated between winning (3 times) and losing (2) in their last five home league games against St Johnstone, winning 2-0 most recently in September.

• St Johnstone are winless in their past three league meetings with Hibs (D1 L2), and have only kept one clean sheet in 10 league games versus the Easter Road side (1-0 win in December 2023).

• Hibs have won their past four home league games, their longest run in the Scottish Premiership since winning seven on the bounce from January to April 2018 under Neil Lennon.

• St Johnstone have only won one of their past nine away league outings (D2 L6), a 1-0 victory at St Mirren in February.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

What if the Scottish Premiership was decided on overperforming your expected goals (xG) rating?

You're rolling your eyes, aren't you? Fair enough, but the above graphic still paints an interesting picture.

In the second column you will see each team's current xG tally after 30 games, but the table is sorted based on the third column, which shows how much each side has overperformed or underperformed by.

For example, the chances leaders Celtic have created throughout the season suggests they should have scored around 77 goals, but Brendan Rodgers' side have surpassed that tally with an overperformance of almost 12 goals.

Remarkably, Dundee have overperformed their xG total of 34 by 11 goals. If Tony Docherty's side could sort out their defensive issues, it's safe to assume they wouldn't be fighting for survival.

It's the opposite for Kilmarnock, with their underperformance of 5.5 showing they have struggled to take their chances. Addressing that is key if Derek McInnes wants to pull his side away from the bottom.

Other underperformers include Hibernian, Dundee United and Ross County, while the remainder of the teams in the division appear to be fairly steady.

Manager Simo Valakari believes St Johnstone will benefit from defender Daniel Balodis' appearances for Latvia, including Monday's loss to England at Wembley. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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St Johnstone are facing a battle at the bottom as they look to secure their Premiership status for next season.

They are currently rock bottom of the top-flight table, five points behind Dundee in 11th.

We have taken a look at some of their stats in comparison to the rest of the teams in the league this season to work out what's going wrong.

In front of goal, the numbers don't look good. They have scored the second fewest goals this season - an average of 1.1 goals per game - while conceding the second most at 1.8 per match.

Their expected goals tally is the lowest in the division, as is their shots on target per match, and in terms of big chances only Ross County have created fewer.

Simo Valakari's side have also had the second fewest touches in the opposition box.

On a more positive note, they are in the top half for average possession (53.4%) - only Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen have more - plus they are third for accurate passes per match, with only Celtic and Rangers completing more.

However, positive possession and passing stats will count for little if they cannot address the issues they are facing in both boxes.

St Johnstone's Elliot Watt, 25, is enjoying working with manager Simo Valakari and the midfielder hopes to work on the physical aspects of his game. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has hailed the influence of Barry Douglas on and off the pitch since the 35-year-old left-back joined the Scottish Premiership club as a free agent until the end of the season in October. (The Courier), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Daniels Balodis kept a clean sheet for Latvia as they kicked off their World Cup qualification campaign with a 1-0 win over Andorra.

The 26-year-old defender played the full 90 minutes and won the most tackles in the game, with three successes. He also racked up am impressive 86% passing accuracy, with 73 of out his 85 passes finding a teammate.

They next face England on Monday evening.

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We asked for your St Johnstone player of the year - and the biggest disappointment.

Here's what some of you said:

Willie: It has to be Drey Wright for player of the season. He is dependable in whatever position he is asked to play. Biggest letdown was the way Craig Levein mismanaged the young goalkeepers, removing the keeper coach and failing to bring in an experienced keeper.

Paul: Best player has consistently been Sven Sprangler. Biggest letdown definitely Benjamin Kimpioka, especially after the way he started the season.

Robin: Player of the season - Makenzie Kirk has been the surprise, but so far would probably be Bozo Mikulic despite only arriving in October. His knee injury was a cruel blow for him and us.

As for a flop, there's too many to choose from. Josh Rae, Ross Sinclair, Kyle Cameron (somehow made captain), Uche Ikpeazu (is he a flop if he has never played for us?) and Matt Smith all flattered to deceive on the field, but the biggest flop was Levein.

Cameron: Player of the season so far has got to be Wright for me, closely followed by Sprangler. In terms of disappointment, unfortunately there are too many, hence we are now facing relegation, but I'd actually say Kimpioka. Even though he has scored some goals, if he'd kept his head down all season instead of getting caught up in contract and transfer nonsense we might be a few points better off. As for Levein and his recruitment, where do you start?

Duncan: Difficult question in a difficult campaign, with a different 11 for the second half of the season. Therefore the only three names that can considered are Sprangler, Wright and Kirk. Sprangler's commitment to get stuck in despite dark times has been inspiring; Wright's willingness to plug gaps and put in a shift has been inspiring; without Kirk's goals, where would we be? Tough choice!

With just eight Premiership games left, we're down to the business end of the season.

Player reputations have been enhanced - or sullied - with their performances throughout the campaign.

As thoughts begin to turn to end-of-term awards, we want to know your St Johnstone player of the season so far - and the biggest flop.

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