St Johnstone

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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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• St Johnstone have won just one of their past nine league games against Dundee (D4 L4), a 2-1 away triumph in October this season.

• Dundee have won both of their past two away league games at St Johnstone, as many as their previous 13 in the top flight beforehand (W2 D3 L8).

• St Johnstone have won on the final day of both of their past two league seasons, beating Livingston 2-0 in 2022-23 and Motherwell 2-1 in 2023-24.

• Dundee are winless in the final game of each of their past nine top-flight campaigns (D2 L7) since a 2-1 win at Aberdeen in 2003-04.

• St Johnstone have been relegated after losing 23 league matches this season, with the last side to lose more in a single Scottish Premiership campaign being Dundee in 2018-19 (27).

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

Dundee are again without Jordan McGhee and Ethan Ingram.

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Simo Valakari says the backing of St Johnstone owner Adam Webb "meant everything" as he looks to lead the club back to the top flight.

Saints' 16-year Premiership stay was ended in midweek when the 2-1 defeat by Hearts consigned the Perth side side to the drop.

Valakari, who took charge in October, remains as head coach after Webb insisted the Finn was "just getting started on the project to return St Johnstone to its glory days".

"It meant everything to me," Valakari said. "The first day he signed me, he put faith in me and I feel it most that I could not do it [keep St Johnstone up].

"We're all disappointed about the results, all disappointed about the outcomes. Of course, we need to understand that nothing is guaranteed in football.

"That's why, yes, it was good from our club, from Adam, to make it clear again that this is what we are, that's where we go and now we start working on it.

"When I first came here, we already started to work on two sides. We had this short term that we wanted to stay in the Premiership. I need to be very, very clear, we wanted really badly to stay in the Premiership and do the rebuilding in the Premiership.

"We could not do it, so now we are in the Championship and the rebuilding continues. On the football side, all the aspects of the club have been together, but now because we know where we are, we can open it. We only have one plan and we start working towards it."

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"Gutted" Jason Holt admits St Johnstone have "clearly not been good enough" this season as he comes to terms with successive relegations.

The midfielder went down with Livingston last term and has now suffered the same fate with Saints after their demotion to the Championship was confirmed following the midweek defeat at Hearts.

"It's hard because as a player, you don't want any relegations on your CV," said 32-year-old Holt.

"Unfortunately I've been on the end of two. I think throughout your career there's going to be bumps in the road, there's going to be ups and downs.

"Certainly the last two years have been difficult because you're not winning a lot of football matches. You try not to, but you take that home with you and it affects everything.

"It's been challenging at times, but that's the life of a football player. There are bumps along the road. Unfortunately, I've been on the receiving end of a couple of bad ones.

"We're really disappointed and gutted but, overall, we've clearly not been good enough."

Holt expects a revamp of the Perth squad this summer under head coach Simo Valakari, whom owner Adam Webb confirmed on Thursday will be kept on.

"Naturally, I think if a club goes down, there's probably a bit of a rebuild," Holt said. "I don't know what that looks like, but I'm sure the club will have decisions to make over the summer.

"I think we're going to probably be one of the favourites (for the Championship) so there comes a different pressure in winning games every week."

Sportscene pundits discuss relegated St Johnstone's style of play under manager Simo Valakari.

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.

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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