They have already had to absorb enough punches to last a whole campaign and find themselves bottom of the Premiership after the latest of them.
But Liam Gordon is confident that the early-season body blows won’t have a lasting impact on a St Johnstone squad that is made of the right stuff to prove that 12th and last is a false position.
Saints’ three live TV games have all ended the same way – late, heart-breaking defeat.
Add to that at least two other games they have dominated but lost and you can see why hard-luck tales have become their thing.
There will be no Perth panic, Gordon insisted however, only conviction that a corner will soon be turned.
“I know that we’re not getting the results but the positivity is still there in the dressing room,” said the centre-back. “There is character and we just need to dig in.
“If the performances were bad I’d be worried – very worried. But that’s not the case. I’m sure the quality and personality in our squad, even though it’s not the biggest, will bring us through this tough time.”
Celtic left it until the 90th minute to deny Saints a point on Sunday.
“It was another kick in the guts,” Gordon admitted.
“It was really hard to take but we can’t dwell on it. We need to dust ourselves down and get ready for the Betfred Cup games.
“The performances have been good – I’m sick of saying it and I’m sure the fans are sick of hearing it – but it’s true.
“We know we need to start taking our chances and on the defensive side of things, see games like that out.
“It’s been the story of our season so far. The results haven’t matched the performances.
“Our last game in the Scottish Cup against Celtic was probably the best we’d played against them for a few seasons and we’ve done really well against them again so there are positives to take.
“But ultimately, late goals are one of the things killing us and it’s something we need to address.”
That and putting the ball in the back of the net, of course. Something Craig Conway should have done with his close-range back post shot at the start of the second half when the score was still 0-0.
“You need to take your chances against anyone in this league but even more so against Celtic,” said Gordon.
“Craig probably hit the ball too well if anything and it has cannoned off the post. I’ve never heard a noise like that off the post in all my time here.
“It was a good passage of play for us and has come back to haunt us.”
A new striker has been manager Callum Davidson’s transfer window priority of late, with Saints’ goal-scoring problem showing no sign of correcting itself. Israeli Guy Melamed will hopefully provide the solution.
“The boys had heard a few rumours but our focus was totally on the Celtic game,” said Gordon.
“If there is a new striker coming in hopefully he can offer us something a bit different. It’s not as if the forwards here have been playing badly, it’s just a case of us not scoring as a team.
“If we get a little bit of a spark from a new signing that starts the goals coming that will be great.”
Next up are Kelty Hearts on Wednesday night in the Betfred Cup opener, with Brechin City to follow at the weekend.
“Hopefully we’ll get good results in the cup that will help us kick on in the league,” said Gordon.
“The teams we’re going to come up against will be good sides and we won’t disrespect them but we’re aiming to get a few goals that will get us back in the habit.”
