St Johnstone

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone continued their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 away victory over Arbroath.

Josh McPake notched his first goal for the Perth Saints after the interval having joined Craig Levein's side this summer upon completion of a spell training with the club towards the end of last season.

Manager Craig Levein's side have recorded two wins in their previous two pre-season games against Nairn County and Huntly.

Their League Cup campaign begins next weekend on July 13, away to Brechin City.

Image source, Getty Images

St Johnstone have signed Notts County defender Kyle Cameron on a season-long loan.

The former Scotland youth international makes the move after three years at Meadow Lane to McDiarmid Park.

The 27-year-old made over 100 appearances for the club and captained them in their promotion to the National League.

Such leadership qualities caught the eye of manager Craig Levein and it's a trait Cameron himself his hoping to display in Perth.

“I would like to see the club do well this season," he told SaintsTV. "I obviously want to play as much as I can.

“It is about showcasing what I can do this season. Doing that in a St Johnstone kit is a great move in the right direction for me.

“I feel like I am a leader and a good defender. I will let the fans decide what kind of player I am when I start to play games.”

While Cameron is allowing the fans to make up their own mind, Levein highlighted his pace and strength as admirable qualities.

“Kyle is quick, good in the air and his use of the ball is very good,"the manager added.

"He will be a strong addition to our squad and has important leadership qualities. He will bring more balance to our defence."

Image source, SNS

Ryan McGowan has joined Championship side Livingston on a two-year deal after his St Johnstone departure at the end of last season.

The Australia international helped the Saints stay in the top flight while Livi went down in the previous campaign.

The West Lothian side become the seventh Scottish club of McGowan's career after previous spells with Hearts, Ayr United, Partick Thistle, Dundee United, Dundee and St Johnstone.

St Johnstone are on the verge of signing Ghana Under-20 captain Aaron Essel, an 18-year-old centre-back who can also play as a holding midfielder or right-back. (The Courier, external - subscription)

St Johnstone expect to receive between £20,000 and £30,000 for Dan Phillips after the 23-year-old midfielder's move to Stevenage was confirmed. (The Courier), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

Image source, SNS

Ross Sinclair can't wait to get back to competitive action for St Johnstone after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper suffered an elbow injury that required surgery and kept him out of action for almost the entirety of last season.

Sinclair, who made his first appearance in 11 months in Saturday's friendly win over Huntly, told club media: "I'm really excited [to get back].

"It's been a long time out but I've put that behind me now, that's done and I'm looking forward to the future and what I can do for this club.

"It was tough last year because I was just getting into the swing of things and then I got injured.

"Now it's a case of putting that behind me and looking forward to the cup games."

Who do you think will be St Johnstone's breakout star in the coming season?

Is there one particular youngster you are backing to impress or perhaps a fringe player who will come to the fore?

Have your say here., external

Image source, SNS

Daniel Phillips has departed St Johnstone after rejecting a new contract, while Ryan McGowan has also left.

Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Phillips, 23, made 59 appearances and served as vice-captain on numerous occasions in his two-year spell.

Australia defender McGowan played 63 games and scored three goals after also joining the club in 2022.

Ali Crawford and Callum Booth are among a further eight players who have already left the club this summer.

St Johnstone defender Ryan McGowan is set to sign for a Scottish Championship club later this week, with several second-tier clubs interested in the Australia international, while Stevenage are the frontrunners to snap-up Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Dan Phillips. (The Courier), external

St Johnstone youth defender Callan Hamill is training at Arsenal’s academy with a view to a potential transfer next summer, with Celtic and Rangers also interested in the 15-year-old right-back. (The Athletic), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

New St Johnstone winger Josh McPake, 22, believes the time is now for him to fulfil his potential. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Image source, St Johnstone on X

St Johnstone have unveiled their new away kit for the 2024-25 season.

The club say the design is a "special nod" to their early years before they switched to their now familiar blue and white colours.

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone wrapped up their trip north with a 2-0 friendly win over Highland League side Huntly.

Stevie May's penalty gave the visitors an interval lead and 17-year-old midfielder Joe Ellison added the second.

Craig Levein's men, who thrashed Nairn County 6-1 on Friday night, visit Arbroath for a friendly on 6 July before their League Cup opener the following weekend against Brechin City.

After the win over Huntly at Christie Park, striker Matt Smith told Saints TV: "It's been good. It's always nice to get back playing games and get minutes in the legs.

"The new players are good characters and have settled in well."

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone ran out comfortable 6-1 winners as they got their pre-season campaign under way at Nairn County.

Jackson Mylchreest, 17, put the visitors ahead after 24 minutes, capitalising on a breakaway run up the wing by Adama Sidibeh to turn and drill home the opener.

Striker Mylchreest made it two on the half-hour mark, heading home from a corner to double Saints' lead.

Craig Levein reshuffled his pack at half-time, making nine substitutions, but it was the hosts who were to capitalise, with Andrew Greig marking his return from injury by finding the net after a failed clearance at the corner.

With 20 minutes remaining, however, Saints restored the gap - a Stevie May shot rebounding back into the path of Taylor Steven.

Three minutes later, Sam McClelland headed home to make it four, before David Keltjens' powerful shot clipped in off the post on the 80th minute.

May wrapped up the scoring on the stroke of full time to give the Saints a comfortable start to their Highland double-header.

We asked for your views on where St Johnstone will be 10 games into the new season after the fixtures were announced.

Here's what some of you had to say:

James: Annoyed by the fixtures themselves. Monday night start, followed by two away games and likely only one Saturday 3pm kick off before mid-October (with Celtic game likely to be moved). Long stretches with no home games, then three in one month in November. The default position should be one game at home followed by one away, with limited exceptions.

Graeme: If we don't start well then hopefully Craig Levein and Andy Kirk will be sacked. Cannot see us being anything other than a bottom two team with them in charge.

Neil: Given there's no Old Firm or Hearts and Hibs games in the first month, I'd like to think Saints will have more points on the board early doors than the last couple of seasons!

Image source, SNS

St Johnstone boss Craig Levein has been speaking ahead of the club’s pre-season trip north to face Nairn County and Huntly this weekend. Here are some of the highlights.

• Wants to see how young goalkeepers Josh Rae, Ross Sinclair and Craig Hepburn perform in preseason “before I make a final decision about whether we want a more experienced goalkeeper”

• Uche Ikpeazu will miss the first three months of the season after suffering a household accident which has left him requiring knee surgery.

• Josh McPake had “lost his way a bit” after his early days at Rangers, but Levein feels “there's obviously talent there, it's just about whether he's got determination and drive to make his career as good as it can possibly be”

• The club are targeting more central defenders to sign in the next few weeks after adding Jack Sanders to the squad.

• He’s pleased with what he’s seen from pre-season so far, and feels “if you miss preseason it's always difficult to catch up”.

• The pre-season games will see him “play one team for an hour on Friday, then a new team for the last half hour, then flip them around on the Saturday.

• He will take young players up to bolster the squad this weekend in case of injuries but ‘hopefully I wont have to use them’.

Now the fixtures are out, how are you feeling about your side's start to the season?

Where do you think St Johnstone will be after the first 10 games of the season? Will they avoid another relegation battle?

Give us your thoughts, external.

After securing Scottish Premiership survival on the final day last season, St Johnstone have another campaign of top-flight football to look forward to.

Following their Monday night football slot at home to Aberdeen on the opening weekend, Saints travel to Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Hibs in their first five fixtures, as well as having a home meeting with Motherwell.

Over the festive period, Craig Levein's side host Dundee United on Boxing Day before a trip to Celtic Park on Sunday, 29 December.

Saints host Hibs on Thursday, 2 January, followed by the visit of Tayside rivals Dundee to McDiarmid Park.

A trip to Tannadice rounds off their pre-split fixtures on the weekend of Saturday, 12 April.

Canada striker Theo Bair has revealed that he rejected the chance to extend his one-year stay with St Johnstone before joining Motherwell as he felt people did not see him at his best with the Perth club. (Daily Record), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Fixtures for the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season have been released.

The campaign will kick off with Hearts hosting Rangers at Tynecastle, a repeat of the sides' final league game of last season which ended in a 3-3 draw.

Newly-promoted Dundee United entertain derby rivals Dundee, while Celtic begin their title defence with the visit of Kilmarnock.

Jimmy Thelin's first Premiership game as Aberdeen boss is a trip to Perth to face St Johnstone.

David Gray starts his reign as permanent Hibs head coach away to St Mirren, while Motherwell are to home to Ross County.

The opening round of fixtures will be played from 3-5 August.

St Johnstone kick off their 2024/25 Scottish Premiership campaign with the visit of Aberdeen to McDiarmid Park.

The match will take place on Monday, 5 August at 20:00 BST.

You can find all of St Johnstone's fixtures here

Image source, Getty Images

The 2024-25 SPFL schedule will be unveiled at 09:00 BST on Thursday, and we've got all the information you need before the return of domestic football.

The action in all four leagues kicks off on the weekend of 3 August.

Eight months later, the Premiership split happens on the weekend of 12 and 13 April and the top-flight season concludes on the weekend of 17 and 18 May.

And while it might be too painful to be thinking about the national team, there are international periods in September, October, November and March to bear in mind.

There will not, however, be a winter break this season.

The expansion of Uefa's club competitions - with the new league phase of the Champions League and Europa League running until the end of January - is the reason for that.

The SPFL said the format change "exerts additional pressure on the domestic calendar" and means no mid-season trips to the sunshine for Premiership clubs.

Image source, SNS

Motherwell have announced the signing of defender Liam Gordon from St Johnstone on a two-year deal.

The 28-year-old captained the Perth side to Premiership survival last season, but turned down a new deal, instead opting to move to Fir Park.

Gordon made 201 appearances for St Johnstone and lifted both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup during his long spell at McDiarmid Park.

"We have been working to bring Liam to the club for a number of weeks now," Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

"I've spoken with people who know Liam really well and they all speak highly of him as a person, as well as a player.

"He is a leader and someone who gives everything for the badge. It’s that sort of mentality that we need in our team.

"We’ve brought in a player who was skipper at a team in our league last season, I think that really shows how good a move this is."