St Johnstone could go from Europa League hopefuls to relegation possibles if the current squad is decimated in the summer, manager Steve Lomas has warned.
Should all or the majority of key men Fran Sandaza, Jody Morris, Cillian Sheridan, Murray Davidson and Lee Croft move on at the end of the current campaign, Lomas believes he would struggle to replace them.
He explained: ”I can’t remember who it was, but I read a quote the other day that we’ve invested to make the top six. I don’t think so.
”We’ve over-achieved and the fans should enjoy it because it doesn’t come round that often. I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade but we could quite easily be in a relegation battle next year as a result of players leaving. Getting into Europe wouldn’t change much in that regard.
”I’ve got one eye on next season already and I’ve got to say there’s a concern there. We’re enjoying life at the moment but my job is take the emotion out of it and plan ahead.”
Lomas added: ”The concern is that if we lose the people we could lose it will be a tough season. I’m already thinking that way.
”I keep hearing that there’s lots of people out there who are out of contract, but what we’ve got here is a group of players who enjoy playing for the club and have a pride and honsety about themselves.
”It would be a worry for me I’ve got to say if we lost Fran, Cilly, Jody, and weren’t able to re-sign Crofty. There’s also Murray.
”They haven’t said they’re going to move on and we would hold out hope, but I think the club should do everything possible to keep those boys.
”That isn’t in my court, it’s in the court of the chairman and the board. If we don’t keep the nucleus of the squad we could find ourselves in a relegation battle with a click of the fingers.”