St Johnstone’s record-breaking goalkeeper Alan Main has suffered a blow which has ended his hopes of enjoying a fitting finale to his time at McDiarmid.
The 42-year-old, who has been granted a testimonial by the club for his 10 years of service, is to undergo hand surgery after a training ground injury.
He will face a six-week recovery period which has ruled him out of contention for Saints’ three remaining league games.
“It looks like there are two chips off the bone and torn ligaments in the thumb,” said the player, who has made 361 appearances for St Johnstone. “So I require surgery and I’ll probably need a cast, which is an absolute nightmare.
“It’s not so much the injury as the timing of it which is desperate.
“I have had my share of injuries over the years and they go with the territory, but this one has been a sore one to take because I’d hoped to get back into the mix for the last few games.”I had really been building up my hopes of a first team game or two before the season ended, but that chance has been taken away from me.
“If it is to be the end here, I wanted to bow out on a high. Maybe now I’ll never play again for St Johnstone, apart from an appearance in my testimonial game.”
Main is out of contract in the summer and he has yet to decide whether to attempt to continue playing or to move fully into coaching.
He added, “If I don’t get a playing contract here, maybe I’ll have to drop down a level to extend my career.
“Coaching is also in my plans, either in the short or longer term, but I’ve not decided what the future holds for me yet.
“The Saints fans have always been brilliant to me and it’s amazing to find so many guys doing so much for my testimonial year events.”Glowing tributeSt Johnstone boss Derek McInnes paid tribute to Main and his contribution to Saints.
“It was my intention to allow Alan to play before the end of the season,” he said. “He has served this club well and you could see the frustration and disappointment in him when he got injured.
“But Alan has been in the game a long time and he knows these things happen. Football can be hard on you and the timing of it just compounds it for him.”
McInnes is still keeping his cards close to his chest about which out-of-contract players, such as Main, will or will not be offered a new deal.
“Players often have an idea if they are likely to get a new contract,” he added.
“If they are not playing regularly, then it is in the player’s interest to move on anyway. We will cross that bridge with them in the next week or so.
“A lot of players have served this club well and some decisions are harder to take than others, but every decision is made in the best interests of the club and there can be no compromise with that.”
Above is a video showing some of Main’s best saves from his first stint at St Johnstone, during which he helped the club to qualify for the UEFA Cup.