St Johnstone

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St Johnstone have announced the signing of goalkeeper Josh Rae on a two-year contract.

The 23-year-old came through the Celtic and Leeds United academies, and has spent the last two seasons with Airdrieonians, where he won the SPFL Trust Trophy.

"It’s been a dream to play in the Premiership and hopefully I can play as many games as possible," Rae said.

"My main aim is to do well for this club and help us move forward. At every level, I’ve tried to do my best and work my way up. I now feel ready to take on this challenge."

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St Johnstone winger Drey Wright has signed a one-year new contract at the Perthshire club.

The 29-year-old was due to leave this summer but will now stay at McDiarmid Park after helping to keep Craig Levein's side in the Premiership.

Injury limited Wright's game time for most of the season but the ex-Hibs winger returned for the post-split fixtures, starting frequently at right-back.

He now enters his fifth season at the club, having made almost 100 appearances. He told club media: "I’m really happy to get things sorted here and I am looking forward to making up for some lost time.

"I think I was improving with every game towards the end of the season and thankfully I was able to help get the job done.

"Hopefully now, with a full pre-season, the improvement can continue and I can contribute a lot more in the upcoming season.

"Pre-season will be hard graft as ever but that is needed to give ourselves the best chance of success in the cup games and in the league.

"I enjoy coming in every day and I’ve made a lot of friends. After some really positive discussions with the manager and Andy Kirk, I’m really looking forward to my next year here."

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Swansea City are considering a £500,000 move for St Johnstone forward Adama Sidibeh. (Sun), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

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Adama Sidibeh scored on his international debut as The Gambia routed Seychelles 5-1 in a World Cup qualifier.

The St Johnstone striker was introduced in the 67th minute of the Group F clash, finding the back of the net just 11 minutes later.

Victory hands Gambia their first three points of the campaign after three games, having endured narrow defeats to Cameroon and Guinea.

Sidibeh scored five goals in 15 Saints appearances after arriving from English seventh-tier side Warrington Rylands in January.

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The results are in. And they may be a surprise.

We asked you to cast your vote on whether the Scottish Premiership should keep VAR or scrap it.

More than 3,000 of you responded to the poll - and while there was a clear majority, it was no landslide.

Those in favour of ditching VAR totalled 67% of voters, while 33% were in favour of favour of keeping it.

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Most St Johnstone fans would credit Graham Carey's creativity in helping the club stave off relegation last season, and the stats highlight just how crucial the 35-year-old was.

In addition to his nine assists, he created 61 chances - the sixth most in the division - and completed 34 dribbles, only behind Dan Phillips in the St Johnstone squad.

The Perth side struggled for possession throughout last season, making those attacking numbers even more impressive, but Carey also mucked in defensively, winning back possession 226 times.

His all-round contribution explains just why his deal has been extended by a year as Craig Levein looks to squeeze yet more out of the veteran winger.

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Graham Carey has signed a one-year deal to stay with St Johnstone next season after playing a key role in the club's successful Premiership survival battle.

The midfielder, 35, will remain in Perth for a third campaign and aims to pass on his vast experience from a career that started at Celtic and includes spells at St Mirren, Plymouth Argyle and CSKA Sofia.

"I’m really happy to sign with the club again," said Carey. "I’m one of the more experienced players now and I’m hoping that can rub off on some of the younger guys.

"We want to be better than we were last season and get back to pushing further up the table."

Manager Craig Levein said: “Everyone knows Graham’s quality and I am sure he will continue to show this while pitching in with assists and goals next season."

The Scottish Professional Football League has ordered Dundee to pay St Johnstone £15,000 after ruling on whether the Perth club should be paid for the costs associated with McDiarmid Park being the back-up "home" venue for the Dark Blues’ Premiership game against Rangers in April. (The Courier), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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BBC Scotland will continue to broadcast live matches and highlights from the Scottish Cup for another five years.

The new deal extends the BBC's arrangement of showing a game from each round - up to and including the final - on a free-to-air platform.

The contract also allows the broadcaster to produce "near live digital highlights".

The Scottish Youth Cup final will also be shown live for the next five years.

• Read the full story

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Controversy and VAR have been intertwined ever since its implementation in the Scottish top flight in October 2022.

From handball decisions to fouls and penalties, managers and fans alike have had grievances over the technology - and the length of time taken for decisions to be made.

With the 2023-24 season complete and the new campaign a number of weeks away, would you rather see VAR scrapped from Scottish football or persevered with?

Cast your vote here.

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St Johnstone have added a friendly against Arbroath to their pre-season schedule.

Craig Levein's men will head to Gayfield on Saturday, 6 July to face the third-tier side at 15:00 BST.

Saints also have two friendlies away to Highland League teams - Nairn on 28 June (20:00) and Huntly the follow day (14:00) - before their League Cup opener at Brechin City on 13 July (15:00).

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St Johnstone midfielder Sven Sprangler says his knee injury is fully healed and he expects to "be better than before" after signing a one-year contract extension with the club.

The Austrian midfielder has made 20 appearances for the Perth side after signing on a free transfer last summer.

The 29-year-old missed the end of the season through injury, but has now signed a deal to keep him at McDiarmid Park.

"My knee is feeling very good," he said. "There is no pain. I know pre-season will be tough but we need this to prepare for the Premiership and I will be ready to go.

"I’m actually looking forward to pre-season and I know I will be better than before.

"I want to score some goals and create goals. But my main target is to play football. I want to be part of the team and play every single week. I need to do everything to be in the starting XI."

We asked you to name St Johnstone's best cult hero signings - the player who showed up with little expectation (and perhaps ability) but won over the support.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Donald: Easily Shaun Rooney. Went from a bench player when he arrived to scoring in both cup final wins. All Saints fans will remember his name.

Douglas: Dave Mackay. Plenty of ability but was totally unheralded when he joined Saints from Livingston. Became a legendary right-back - consistent, dependable and passionate - and, of course, captained Saints to their first ever cup win in 2014.

Anon: Jason Scotland’s got to be up there. Managed to get him on a work permit then he averaged about a goal every other game for two seasons. Was also part of the Trinidad and Tobago 2006 World Cup team, so they were our adopted nation for the summer.

Anon: Attila Sekerlioglu was a cult hero at Saints. Brought so much energy and determination to every performance. Oh, and he had cracking hair. A joy to watch.

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Cammy MacPherson is determined to put his injury woes behind him after signing a new one-year deal at St Johnstone.

The midfielder's contract was set to expire this summer, but after impressing in the final three games of the season as Saints stayed up, the 25-year-old has extended his stay at McDiarmid Park.

"I am really happy to be staying for another year and I am now hoping to stay fit, play consistent games and put the injuries behind me," he said.

MacPherson joined St Johnstone on loan from St Mirren in 2021, before making the move permanent the following year.

“The manager and staff put their trust in me at the end of last season and I was happy with how it went - playing three 90-minute matches in a week and obviously staying up with the win at Fir Park on last day of the season," he added.

“I am now looking to take that momentum into next season, both collectively as a team and personally.

"There are exciting times ahead for the club and I’m looking to play a big part in that.”

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St Johnstone will kick off their season with a trip to Brechin City in the opening game of the Premier Sports Cup.

Craig Levein's side will also host Greenock Morton and East Fife in the competition, either side of a visit to Alloa Athletic.

The Perth club has also announced two pre-season friendlies against Nairn County and Huntly 18 hours apart.

Fixtures (All times BST)

Pre-season friendlies

Nairn County v St Johnstone - Friday, 28 June (20:00)

Huntly v St Johnstone - Saturday, 29 June (14:00)

Premier Sports Cup

Brechin City v St Johnstone - Saturday, 13 July (15:00)

St Johnstone v Greenock Morton - Saturday, 20 July (15:00)

Alloa Athletic v St Johnstone - Tuesday, 23 July (19:45)

St Johnstone v East Fife - Saturday, 27 July (15:00)

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Ali Crawford, Cammy Ballantyne and double cup winner James Brown will leave St Johnstone at the expiry of their contracts this summer.

The Perth club had already announced the departures of fellow Scottish Cup and League Cup-winning legends Callum Booth and Chris Kane, while former Aberdeen stalwart Andy Considine will also move on.

Tony Gallacher and Jack Wills round out the players who will not sign a contract extension ahead of next season.

Meanwhile, loan signings Luke Robinson, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Dave Richards have all returned to their parent clubs.

Manager Craig Levein said: “I would like to thank every single player for their professionalism and contributions during their time at the club.

“Myself, the staff and everyone at the football club wishes them all the very best moving forward.

“We are continuing to work hard to build our squad for next season and further updates will be provided when available.”

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St Johnstone's Adama Sidibeh has been called up by Gambia as rumours of the forward moving to English clubs are played down. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Players come and go, but sometimes a new face will arrive and win the hearts of supporters unexpectedly.

Who's the lesser-remembered player that showed up at St Johnstone with little expectation and perhaps had more passion than talent, but turned into a hero loved across the fanbase?

Give us your shout. , external

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Chief executive Neil Doncaster says crowd figures are "hugely promising" after the SPFL broke its attendance record for the second year running.

Over 5.15m supporters took to the stands to watch their side across all SPFL competitions in 2023-24, covering the Premiership, Championship, League 1, League 2, League Cup and the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The year-on-year figure marks an increase of 64,122 on the season prior's record high, when the number of people attending SPFL matches surpassed 5m for the first time.

A total of of 4,746,052 fans attended games across the four divisions, with Premiership matches attracting 3,760,765.

Scotland continues to have the best attendances figures per capita across its top four divisions in Europe with 21.3 per 1000 people - 65% ahead of second-placed the Netherlands.

Doncaster said: “After topping five million fans across an SPFL season for the first time in season 2022/23, it is hugely promising to see attendances growing even further this season.

“Our supporters are renowned across the world for their dedication and passion and regularly record the highest per capita attendance in Europe."