St Johnstone

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Defeat at Tynecastle on Wednesday night brought an end to 16 years of top-flight football for St Johnstone.

But given the club's fortunes in the Premiership in recent seasons, should we be too surprised?

It was the 2020-21 season when Saints created history by winning both major cup competitions and finished fifth in the Premiership.

All looked to be rosy at McDiarmid Park with a squad full of Scottish talent who knew exactly how to win games of football.

But the warning signs were there early on the following season. Despite gallant away performances against Galatasaray and LASK, the European adventures were over by the end of August.

A run of eight straight defeats in the league between the start of December and the end of January saw the club plummet towards the bottom end of the table.

Although they reached the semi-finals of the League Cup, losing 1-0 to Celtic, there was huge disappointment when they fell at the first hurdle in their defence of the Scottish Cup to lowly Kelty Hearts.

Premiership survival was only achieved after play-off success over two legs against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The following campaign in the league was marginally better with a ninth-place finish. But early exits in both cup competitions left a huge sense of disappointment in Perth.

Davidson left the club towards the end of the season having been player, coach and then manager over a ten-year period.

After a short and unsuccessful spell for Steven MacLean, Craig Levein was tempted back into management.

St Johnstone had been purchased by Geoff Brown in 1986, and along with his son Steven, they turned St Johnstone into one of the best run clubs in Scotland, but they had now decided it was time for someone else to take over the reins.

And shortly after Saints secured their Premiership place on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign, the club was sold to a group of American entrepreneurs.

Levein was sacked in September, just a matter of weeks after the takeover was concluded, with Simo Valkari taking over.

And despite some brave performances, including a home win over champions Celtic, they were unable to avoid the drop.

Valakri said "there were no excuses" and the team were simply "not good enough".

He stressed "things need to change" if they are to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The 52-year-old also says he wants to stay, but when asked if he expects to be at the club, he answered: "we will see".

The next few weeks and months in Perth will be telling, with some big decisions required by those in charge.

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St Johnstone's 16-year stay in the Scottish Premiership has come to an end, with a bleak season giving way to what has looked inevitable for some time now.

The statistics illustrate why they have dropped out of the top flight.

The Perth side struggle to get going in games and often left themselves with too much to do later on.

They have conceded 35 first-half goals in 37 games, more than any other in the Premiership this season. In addition, they have failed to score a first-half goal in 26 of their 37 games, more often than any other team in the Premiership this term.

A fair few of those goals have been avoidable, too.

The Perth Saints have conceded 10 goals leading from errors, the top flight's joint-worst record along with Dundee.

Too often, they concede when they shouldn't.

Their cumulative expected-goals (xG) against is 54, but they have conceded 12 goals more than that, suggesting they are susceptible to letting soft goals in and not forming the type of solid rearguard they were associated with for much of their top-flight stay.

The Saints have also dropped 20 points from winning positions, the fourth worst in the league and another damning indictment of a side who have often seemed devoid of confidence and belief.

We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 defeat against Hearts.

Here's what some of you said:

Dunc: Not a lot you can say about the way it has all ended. Radical surgery required, and Simo Valakari must be allowed at least one window going forward. There should not be many on the retained list, and perhaps only Graham Carey and Drey Wright offered new deals. The rest released or contracts terminated and loanees, thanked and returned to their parent clubs. Gutted, but we knew it was coming. The last three seasons were a shambles. We would, at times, have been hard pressed to beat a Sunday League pub team.

Gordy: Again, the simple answer is that Valakari should not be allowed to continue in the Championship. His team selection could at best be described as eccentric, and playing out from the back has been a notable failure and tested to destruction. Beyond that, the 3981 miles between Atlanta, Georgia and Perth has been allowed to become too great structurally by the new owners. They have not committed enough attention to the executive dimension of the club. Although in mitigation, the deterioration reaches back into the later days of the Brown regime. Relegation has been at least four seasons in the making.

Euan: There's never been a better time to remember the 2021 cup double and reflect on how good a month May has been to us recently, what a fantastic high to measure the lows against.

Paul: This game was a repeat of many others, Saints start well, look the better team, but lack that cutting edge. Then, poor defensive play or individual mistakes give goals away, and they are left chasing the game. I hope Simo stays, he brings positivity and a clear way of playing, we just need to overhaul the squad and start building for a promotion campaign.

John: We have the right man in place. A busy few days ahead weeding out the unwanted players and keeping the ones we'll need. Hopefully, plans are already in place for a few much-needed signings. The Saints will rise again.

Donald: This is down to Craig Levein, playing inexperienced goalkeepers, whose mistake at the start of the season probably cost six points. Also loss of two key central defenders left that part of the team decimated. Keep Simo, rebuild and look for an immediate return to the Premiership next season.

Watch highlights as Hearts win 2-1 against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

Available to UK users only.

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• Alan Forrest has scored in each of his last 3 games in the Premiership (3 goals), his longest scoring streak in the competition.

• Lawrence Shankland has assisted 8 goals in the Premiership this season (1 in this game), more than any other Hearts player.

• Hearts have won their last 3 games in the Premiership, their last longer winning streak was from 2nd January 2024 to 17th February 2024, a run of 6 games.

• Graham Carey has scored his fourth goal in the Premiership this season, netting for the first time since 15th February 2025 against Kilmarnock.

• Graham Carey has now scored 4 goals in 13 appearances in the Premiership against Hearts.

Well, St Johnstone fans, the great escape is finally over.

On a brutal night, the Perth Saints' relegation to the Championship was confirmed by defeat at Tynecastle coupled with Ross County's late equaliser at Dens Park.

Where do the failings lie?

Is Simo Valakari the man to take the club forward and lead the charge for promotion?

Where now for this proud football club with such rich top-flight history?

We want your thoughts on the club's predicament. Use this link to have your say.

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "It was not good enough for a long time because the table doesn't lie. It really, really hurts.

"We are crying tonight and tomorrow but always looking forward. This season is history. We need to change things and get this beautiful club back to winning ways.

"It's hard to play in relegation battles but it's even harder to play for promotion. That's what our aim is and that's what we start doing the day after tomorrow. It's a big, big job and will require a lot of effort every day.

"We can't have off days. We already started preparing, but we wanted to fight to stay in the Premiership. No excuses, we were not good enough.

"Numerous things need to change - some big, some small. It's more how you sustain this level and effort every match. Our weaknesses have been too big."

Asked if he expects to stay in charge next season, Valakari replies: "Things need to change and we are starting this change. We can't continue anymore like it has been three or four years flirting with relegation. It needs to go back to being successful and being more stable.

"I don't need to make any decisions. I want to stay. I want to rebuild this club and be successful with this club."

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On a bleak night for St Johnstone, Stephen Duke-McKenna was a beacon of light.

Graham Carey brought control and class from the bench and - briefly - a lifeline with his free-kick.

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Simo Valakari's St Johnstone have waged their war against relegation with laudable intent, but on too many occasions, their flakiness in defence has given them mountains to climb.

Hearts split them open twice for their goals, Douglas spooked by Shankland lurking in his blind spot, and the untracked Forrest skipping beyond tacklers to net.

St Johnstone's ambitious, possession-based blueprint has not been underpinned by accuracy, and while they went after Hearts towards the end, clear-cut chances were scant.

This club has achieved greatness during its Premiership tenure - the European adventures, the domestic giant-slayings and of course, the staggering cup double of 2021 - but alas, traumatic and brutal as the axe falling was, this day has been a long time coming.

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• Hearts have won their past nine league meetings against St Johnstone since a 2-1 defeat in February 2022. The only current Scottish Premiership side on a longer ongoing winning run against a current opponent in the competition is Celtic over Ross County (13).

• St Johnstone have lost nine of their past 10 Scottish Premiership away games at Hearts, including their past five in a row since a 1-0 win in December 2019 under Tommy Wright.

• Hearts have only won their final home game in one of their past 10 top-flight league seasons (D4 L5 – including the curtailed 2019-20 season), a 2-1 victory over rivals Hibernian in 2017-18.

• After failing to win their final away league game in five successive seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23 (D2 L3 – including curtailed 2019-20 season), St Johnstone won their last on the road in 2023-24, 2-1 at Motherwell.

• Hearts' Lawrence Shankland has been directly involved in eight goals in his past 10 league appearances against St Johnstone (six goals, two assists), assisting both of his side's goals in their 2-1 win in February.

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Hearts will be without goalkeeper Craig Gordon (shoulder), Kenneth Vargas (knee), Gerald Taylor (knee) and Aidan Denholm (hamstring).

Blair Spittal could be back after missing out on Saturday, while Jamie McCart (groin) is pushing for a return.

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari expects to be selecting from an unchanged squad, with Zach Mitchell (hamstring), Drey Wright (ankle), Bozo Mikulic (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) still out.

St Johnstone's Daniel Balodis backs team-mate Uche Ikpeazu to show former club Hearts what he's capable of when the sides meet at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Simo Valakari has told his St Johnstone players to treat Wednesday's trip to Hearts as a must-win match as they bid to keep their Scottish Premiership survival hopes alive.

Last-placed Saints moved within three points of second-bottom Ross County when they beat the Highland side 2-1 on Saturday.

They need another positive result at Tynecastle as they know they will be relegated if they fail to win and County triumph away to Dundee, with a Saints victory in Edinburgh ensuring the fight will go to the last day.

"We cannot know how the other results will go," Valakari said. "So, as always, we go and prepare ourselves to win it.

"We are still in this fight and now it's a different challenge, Wednesday night to go play against Hearts.

"It's their last home match, they want to show how good they are for their own fans, so we really need to be up for it and take the confidence that we are a good team."

Hearts sacked Neil Critchley last month after a run of five games without a win.

But Valakari is wary of the fact the Jambos are now "playing free-flowing football" after winning their last two games under caretaker boss Liam Fox, scoring six goals in the process.

"Hearts are in good form," he said. "Tynecastle is not the easiest place to go, but at the same time it's a beautiful stadium.

"It's a different Hearts. I really like how, especially now, they're attacking because the pressure is kind of off and they can enjoy their football."

Sam Miller
Fan writer

As Lenny Kravitz's hit song It Ain't Over Til It's Over played loudly at the end of St Johnstone's win against Ross County on Saturday, it struck me – for perhaps the first time this year – that maybe there's still a chance of top-flight survival.

It was genuinely encouraging to witness the collective spirit between the players and the fans regarding the team's current situation. It seems like everyone is finally on the same page. Hopefully, this unified effort won't be too late to make a difference.

The match was nerve-wracking, especially with County's disallowed goal. Perhaps that was the bit of luck that teams often feel they are missing.

However, this feels like just the initial step. The team still needs two wins in the remaining two games, along with a couple of County slip-ups.

While the outcome remains uncertain, history suggests that betting against St Johnstone isn't necessarily a wise choice.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints., external

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Daniel Balodis: A huge win for St Johnstone against Ross County, keeping that flicker of hope they can escape the drop alive. The goal from the Latvian defender could be crucial.

Elliot Watt: An assist and a winner. May have etched his name into St Johnstone folklore if they manage to pull off the great escape.

Sportscene pundit Michael Stewart dissects St Johnstone's abundance of chances in the vital win over Ross County. (Available to UK users only)

Watch highlights as St Johnstone keep their survival hopes alive by inflicting a seventh straight defeat on Ross County. (Available to UK users only)

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Midfielder Elliot Watt believes the "do or die" 2-1 victory over Ross County shows St Johnstone possess the character retain their Premiership status.

Defeat against the Dingwall side would have confirmed automatic relegation to the Championship but Daniels Balodis' first-half header and Watt's second half winner reduced the gap on Don Cowie's side to just three points with two games remaining.

"Our character has been questioned a few times and rightly so," Watt told BBC Scotland.

"I've been in the changing room for three or four months now and I've never once seen the lads heads drop or anybody throw a towel in or give up.

"Everybody's fighting and everybody wants to get the club out of this situation.

"Today was do or die and we've shown an enormous amount of mental strength to get over the line."

St Johnstone's next step is a trip to face managerless Hearts on Wednesday. Watt's winner delivers fresh hope that they can produce an unlikely escape and finish the season off bottom place.

"People are doubting us, but it's all irrelevant," he said.

"It's all outside noise. As long as we know within the the changing room that we can get out of this situation.

"I said it to to a couple of lads during the week that if we can just win, the belief that gives us going into Wednesday, it's enormous.

"It gives us a confidence that we probably haven't had for a while. We can't get too carried away. This means nothing today if we don't go back it up at Hearts with a result."

We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 win against Ross County.

Here's what some of you said:

Ellie: One of the most stressful matches I have sat through as a Saints fan (especially the VAR check, one of a slim amount to go our way this season) but a well deserved win - Elliot Watt and Josh McPake were outstanding. Let's hope we can take this form through to the end of the season as our job is far from done.

Jimmy: We had numerous chances to score, reason being we didn't. Could be 'match rustiness'? The chance County had, they took well and deserved it. We didn't let our heads down, we knew what we had to do. We did get lucky with the disallowed County goal. Defence frailties are still there, but I still have faith in the players we have. Hopefully, we can get a defender that's fit enough for the run in.

Robin: It's always the hope that gets you! A good performance, but without someone taking these clear chances it is just prolonging the life support. It is not nice wanting Dundee to win a game, as we now need them to on Wednesday, but it's better that than being without hope.

Linsey: Much better, but cant help feeling it's come too late, finally saw a bit of wing work by McPake which we are badly needing as a team. We need to actually start using all of the pitch and open up our game at home. All the players played for the badge for once, they can pull off the great escape and leave everyone else in this league scratching their heads and saying 'how on earth did those jammy farmers from Perth manage that one?'

Dunc: Saints were up for the battle, but they were all mostly playing for their futures in the Championship. Not sure who should be retained, or want to go. We are gone, but if we recruit well we might not be down too long. That could though, be wishful thinking!

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• Ross County have lost their past seven games in the Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 10 August 2014 to 20 September 2014.

• Joshua McPake has assisted three goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), no St Johnstone player has more.

• Zach Ashworth received a red card - Ross County's third sending off in the Premiership this season, and their first since 19 October 2024 against St Johnstone.

• Adama Sidibeh attempted five shots, the first time he has attempted at least five shots in a match in the Premiership since facing Dundee on 1 March 2025 (five shots).

Saints fans, were you at McDiarmid Park on Saturday or following the action from home? Either way we want your views of that dramatic 2-1 victory over Ross County. What did you make of the performance? How are you feeling about your chance of Premiership survival?

Have your say

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari tells BBC Scotland: "We needed to win, we did it and of course you can see some nervy moments in our game.

"I thought we started the game very well but we let the opponent get back into the match. When we are in those moments it affects you but huge credit to the players for how they worked their way back in, got the second goal and then how we defended in the end.

"The boys gave everything, one moment with VAR it went for us, it's been a long season sometimes these things go against you. But today was a solid performance, we needed to win and now the fight continues.

"We play, we perform, we create chances but we are not taking them and the opponent will punish us, that's why we are in the position we are in.

"But the message to the team is that we just need to keep going, not let the heads go down because we can create the chances and the boys did it.

"It would have made everyone's life much easier if we'd taken those chances but that's football and that's why we love it.

"In difficult moments we have been pushing. the work rate has been very good, we know it will be a difficult game on Wednesday but we have no other option than to go there and try to perform. It's a big challenge but at the same time it's a big opportunity."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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The pressure on St Johnstone to win was enormous given the gap to Ross County before kick-off was six points. It really was win or bust.

It seemed that after those incredible missed chances that it might not be their day once again, but they got there and will take huge heart from getting through a massive test.

While they have a long way to go to pull off a great escape, this win keeps them in the fight as other relegation rivals toil.

It took character to see this through and the outcome will throw all sort of doubt County's way.