The Premiership season is 99.9% certain to be over but Matt Butcher is “open” to coming back to St Johnstone when the new one begins.
The Bournemouth midfielder made a big impact in his short loan spell at McDiarmid Park after arriving on January deadline day.
Frustrated that his time in Scotland was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, Butcher will prioritise getting more game-time when football resumes after the lockdown, as he seeks to continue his comeback from injury problems.
And that could be in Perth again.
“What happens next season will be down to Bournemouth but I loved my time at St Johnstone and would be open to going back if that’s what everyone wanted,” he said.
“I feel my time was cut short because of the virus and would have loved to end the season and see where we got to.
“On a personal level, I loved the few months I was there and enjoyed working with the manager so we will see what happens.
“Bournemouth were happy with the move for me. I actually spoke to the manager when I was driving back down the road.
“They wanted me to go out and find games, so getting to St Johnstone and playing was perfect.
“I still feel like I need games to prove my fitness so we’ll see what happens and if Bournemouth want me to go out again.”
Butcher’s mid-February start for Saints against Ross County was his first in competitive football for 36 months, with hip and knee injuries largely responsible for that frustrating run of inaction. In subsequent games, he was bringing composure and an impressive range of passing to the Perth midfield.
Career momentum was building at long last for the 22-year-old until Covid-19 intervened.
“The shutdown couldn’t have happened at a worse time, to be honest,” he admitted.
“I’d been out for so long, got back and things were going great for me and for the team.
“Looking back, things were probably going too well!
“We were winning matches and I was playing well, getting there with my fitness all the time so I was really happy.
“I was feeling the best I’ve done for years.
“It was always going to be tough to go to a new league and a new team but I felt I fitted in well and was getting better with each game.
“I’d just been waiting on someone to take a chance on me after being out so long.
“The manager did that and I was doing everything I could to repay him.
“It took a few games to get sharp again but I was hitting what I think I’m capable of when the whole thing was closed down.
“But you just have to be philosophical about it. There are people in far worse positions than I am or we are as footballers.
“You have to think about people getting ill and dying then you realise that there are more important things.
“From my perspective, I got out to a club I enjoyed and played some games so it was a good few months regardless of what happens with the rest of the season now.”
If the SPFL finish the top flight on a points per game basis, Saints will end up sixth. According to Butcher, Tommy Wright’s men were confident of securing that spot on the pitch.
He said: “When I first went in to train and played the first couple of games, I couldn’t understand how this team could have been bottom of the league for a few months.
“From what I could see this was a team which should have been much further up the league and over the weeks we started getting there.
“We were about to go to Hibs when they closed the league down and a win there would have taken us into the top six.
“We were full of confidence after beating Livingston the week before and we really felt we had a good chance of kicking on up the table.
“It’s a young team but you felt everyone growing together with the games we played. We started backing up performances with points.
“It’s disappointing the way it looks to have ended, so we will probably never know but I’d love the chance to get those final nine games played.”
Back in England, Butcher isn’t holding out much hope of the Scottish season being played out.
He said: “I came back down the road the day before the lockdown was announced.
“I had stayed up after the final game was cancelled hoping the Premiership would be back in a couple of weeks but it quickly became clear that it wouldn’t be happening.
“So the gaffer just told me to head off and thankfully I was able to clear my stuff out of the flat and drive home before the country was shut down.
“The main thing was being able to get away in case they closed the motorways because at that point nobody really knew what was going to happen.
“I’ve been training on my own every day and am ready to come back if the league starts again, but it’s looking less likely as time goes on.
“I have been keeping an eye on what’s being said. It’s a difficult one because you don’t know the ins and outs of it for all the clubs.
“There is still talk of English football starting again but nobody really knows because nothing concrete has been said.”
