In the first few months of the season the unpredictability of a St Johnstone starting line-up was a worry.
A calamitous Betfred Cup campaign and an error-strewn first few months of the Premiership campaign meant Tommy Wright had to chop and change in a mostly futile attempt to find combinations across the pitch he could rely on to produce results.
How times have changed.
Now, when Wright looks at the options available and decides to mix things up, he does so from a position of strength.
It is no longer a roll of the dice, keeping his fingers crossed for a double six.
Who would have thought a fit Liam Gordon could be left on the bench as he was at Ayr after arguably being the biggest reason for the Saints defence tightening up from mid-December onwards?
Jason Holt was magnificent at Pittodrie but seeing a middle four of Liam Craig, David Wotherspoon, Ali McCann and Drey Wright on the team-sheet wouldn’t have worried travelling Perth fans in the slightest.
And up front, where not long ago the cupboard looked pretty bare, Callum Hendry’s substitute goals apart, now there are three strikers with confidence brimming.
Hendry and May worked at Somerset Park, just as a lone striker did at Pittodrie a few days earlier and May and Kane did in the 3-3 draw with Hearts and the win against Kilmarnock before that.
Expect changes again when Motherwell come to McDiarmid Park in midweek. But expect another good performance.
The days of trial and error are over.
