Manager Craig Levein insists Chris Kane could yet have a future at St Johnstone after the striker was loaned out to Dunfermline. (Courier), external
Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.
Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, SNSAdama Sidibeh says he defied his mother's wishes for him to become a mechanic, instead pursuing a football career that has led him to McDiarmid Park.
The 25-year-old has made three appearances for St Johnstone since his January move from Warrington Rylands, playing the full 90 minutes in last weekend's defeat at Dens Park - a debut that will stick with the striker.
"It was a good moment for me because the fans were so amazing," he told club media, external. I loved the support. It makes me do extra, to make them proud. It was nice. I was really happy when I saw the fans.
"I felt so happy when St Johnstone wanted me. I felt really pleased and it is a big opportunity for me. It was a proud moment for me and my family.
"My mum wanted me to be a mechanic when I was young, and then I told her I want to be a footballer. She started helping me and everything is good now. I have been working very hard just to be in this level. You have to be mentally prepared to be here.
"Some clubs were interested in me but I decided to choose St Johnstone because I love the club and I've been following the club. I just want to score as much as possible to help the team and move forward."
St Johnstone manager Craig Levein insists Liam Gordon did not intend to injure Michael Mellon and says criticism of his skipper from Dundee boss Tony Docherty was "inappropriate". (Courier), external
Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.
Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, SNSSt Johnstone striker Chris Kane has joined Championship strugglers Dunfermline on loan until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old, who has spent his entire career with the Perth club, has made just 17 appearances in the last two years after being plagued by injuries.
The Perth side signed Adama Sidibeh and Benjamin Kimpioka in Janaury, which has shuffled Kane further down the pecking order at McDiarmid Park.
Relegation-threatened Dunfermline currently sit ninth in the Championship, having not won in their last eight games.
Kane's St Johnstone contract expires in the summer, so could well have played his last game for the club. In total, he has made 244 St Johnstone appearances since his debut in November 2013.
Listen to the latest episode of BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast here.
Amy Canavan is joined by Rory Loy and John Walker – analyst and host of the Scots Abroad podcast – to discuss all the big talking points in Scottish football.
They give their thoughts on Don Cowie at Ross County, interim managers in general and the Michael Mellon head injury incident.
And, with the Euros looming into view, we take a look at the Scotland squad and assess some of the players hoping to force their way in, including Plymouth Argyle's Ryan Hardie.
Former St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean says the summer rebuild required at the Scottish Premiership club was a bigger job than he expected. (The Courier), external
Scottish Championship clubs Dunfermline Athletic and Queen's Park are vying to sign 29-year-old St Johnstone striker Chris Kane on loan as they try to escape relegation. (The Courier), external
Read the rest of Tuesday's Scottish gossip.
Image source, BBC Sport
We asked for your thoughts on St Johnstone's dramatic 2-1 loss to Dundee. Here's a taste of what you had to say...
Peter: For the third game in five, we're on the wrong end of a VAR call. The officials were poor and the decision to award the penalty was awful. More worrying were the decisions of Levein. The subs allowed Dundee to get even more on to the front foot and it was calling out for the guile of [Nicky] Clark.
Anon: The double substitution disrupted the teams rhythm when there was no need for change. He removed an attacking threat and filled the midfield with mediocrity.
Brian: The match today was abysmal. Why is Levein taking off strikers and then parking the bus? It doesn't look to me like the players know what the manager wants them to do. This should have been a good result to leapfrog Dundee and get further up the table. Today's game didn't give any hope for the future. Completely depressing.
Anon: Constant changes to team, tactics and formation are doing nobody any favours, except the opposition. Play-off now looks certain to me. Whether we survive or not, wide attacking players are required to complement what we have. We cannot continue with so much negativity, as home crowds will continue to suffer. Try to win rather than not lose is key.
Gordon: Far too negative after taking the lead. I have zero faith in Levein & Kirk. Watching Saints is awful. Top six idea is a joke. More likely bottom three at best. As for VAR, it's killing football. I have been a season ticket holder for more than 20 years but am close to having had enough. Blue cards and I am done.
Andrew Petrie, BBC Sport Scotland
For a large part of this afternoon, St Johnstone were up into the top six. Despite coming in for criticism from some quarters, Craig Levein and Andy Kirk have done a decent job.
The Perth team were clinical, scoring with their first chance, and threatened without creating a large amount. However, they'll be furious they threw this away.
The upside is Benjamin Kimpioka and Adama Sidibeh look like a real handful up top. If they can click, they'll pose real problems for Premiership defences.
A sore one to take for you, Saints fans. Still think you're getting into the top six?
What went wrong today? Did you think it was a penalty?
Image source, SNSMatt Smith. St Johnstone's all-action midfielder was their best player this afternoon. Took his goal superbly, threw himself into challenges and tried to get Saints playing.
Unfortunately, some of his teammates weren't quite on the same page. When Smith is on song, he's some player.
Image source, SNSSt Johnstone manager Craig Levein tells BBC Scotland: "I'm furious at a couple of things. The penalty decision, my team's response to losing that goal.
"I didn't like what I saw after the equaliser. We should have stood taller, fought harder. That's what disappoints me. We can't do anything about the VAR decision, but we can do something about doing more on the field to get back into the game. We didn't do enough today.
[On the penalty] "It happens all the time, but that's no excuse for my team's response. They should have done a hell of a lot more than they did, and the supporters have every right to be disappointed. We didn't fight hard enough after the equaliser went in.
"It's not VAR. It's people, that's the problem. Things like that go on in the penalty box at every corner. Why pick that one? It has to be a clear and obvious error, and it's not in my eyes."
"I'm most disappointed at the fact we didn't do as well as we should have. We didn't have enough good play and the psychological blow of losing the penalty affected us."
Dundee: Carson, McGhee, Sylla, Shaughnessy, Donnelly, Beck, Cameron, Tiffoney, McCowan, Bakayoko, Robinson.
Substitutes: Sharp, Dodgson, Astley, Lamie, Ashcroft, Mulligan, Robertson, Mellon, Costelloe.
St Johnstone: Mitov, Olufunwa, K Smith, Considine, Gordon, Robinson, M Smith, Kjeltens, Carey, Kimpioka, Sidibeh.
Substitutes: Richards, Gallacher, McGowan, Kane, Clark, Jaiyesimi, Kucheriavyi, Sprangler, C Smith.
Image source, SNSDundee defender Juan Portales is out of action until March, while Ricki Lamie and Ryan Howley are missing with knocks.
Up frnt, Diego Pineda and Charlie Reilly missed the midweek loss to St Mirren.
St Johnstone will be without Ali Crawford, who is yet to kick a ball this season, while Drey Wright is expected to return from a knee injury some time this month.
Image source, SNSSt Johnstone goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov praised the new management team in Perth for building a 'foundation' that has made the Saints harder to beat.
Since Craig Levein and Andy Kirk took the reins at McDiarmid Park, St Johnstone have picked up more points that six Premiership teams.
“Since the new management team have come in, the first thing they have done is make us very hard to beat,” said Mitov.
“Other teams are not creating a lot of chances against us so that has been a real positive.
“That’s a foundation we wanted to build and now the next challenge is to start scoring more goals.
“It’s no secret we need to score more goals but we also need to create opportunities for our strikers. I think we’re getting there slowly.”
The Saints are back in league action on Sunday after being dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Airdrie, but a win over Dundee could see St Johnstone leap as high as sixth.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” said goalkeeper Mitov.
“We would prefer to be in the cup, of course, like every other team but we just need to focus now on the league and trying to finish as high as possible. Sunday is an opportunity for us to go there, try to win the game and climb up the table.
“It’s a crazy league. If you can put two wins together back to back, it really puts you in a strong position. It’s such an interesting league.”
Image source, SNSCraig Levein insists he isn't paying attention to the league table as his side have the opportunity to climb into the Premiership's top six with a win over Dundee on Sunday.
The Perth club have been battling relegation for much of the campaign, but a win last weekend over 11th-placed Ross County opened up a gap that has allowed fans to begin to look forward, rather than over their shoulders.
Those supporters will be well aware that victory over Tayside rivals Dundee would lift them into the top half of the table, even if their manager confessed he hadn't a clue.
“I didn’t know that,” said Levein. “I don’t really look at the league table at this point in time.
“Once it gets towards the latter end it becomes important to know exactly where you are but right now we’re just fighting to regain form and try and play at a consistently high level for the foreseeable future if we can.
“There were some really good signs against Hearts that things are turning again and I’m hoping we can put on a really good display.”
“We played much better against Hearts than we have been playing, we were even better than we were last week when we won at Ross County, which is encouraging.
“I think the guys we brought in [in January] are settling in and starting to look like they’ll be good additions to the squad.
“I’m hopeful we can really get moving now and start churning out consistently high performances.”
Image source, SNSSt Johnstone defender James Brown has joined Championship side Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season.
The 26-year-old has made more than 80 appearances for the Perth club, signing permanently in 2021 after a successful loan stint.
Brown has also been capped three times for Malta, who he qualifies for through his grandfather.
Raith manager Ian Murray said: "I'm happy we have secured James on loan - he will provide more competition in the squad. He brings experience and natural defensive qualities which are proven in the Premiership.
"We will work hard with James to get him up to speed for the Championship, although he has been training all season with St Johnstone."
Defender Dare Olufunwa believes St Johnstone's January recruitment has given the Perth club the tools they need to leap into the Premiership's top six. (The Courier)
Read the rest of Friday's gossip.
Image source, SNSEach of the last three league meetings between Dundee and St Johnstone have been draws by an increasing scoreline: 0-0 in January 2022, 1-1 in April 2022, and 2-2 in September 2023.
St Johnstone have won just one of their last 12 away league games against newly promoted clubs (D7 L4), although that was the most recent of these, beating Kilmarnock 1-0 in May 2023.
Dundee have lost each of their last three home league games, their longest losing run on home soil in the Scottish Premiership since losing their final six such matches of 2018-19, a season they were relegated.
St Johnstone have only won one of their last seven league games (D3 L3), although that was their last such away match, beating Ross County 1-0 to pick up their first away win of the season in the Scottish Premiership.
No player has scored (4) or assisted (4) more league goals for Dundee this season than Luke McCowan (8, level with Amadou Bakayoko), who assisted both of their goals in their last home league match against Hearts.
