It’s certainly not by design.
But, after lifting two cups and giving elite European sides Galatasaray and LASK a run for their money, St Johnstone find themselves back in their comfort zone.
Written off and seeking to prove a point.
Callum Davidson’s men face unbeaten Hearts and high-flying Dundee United in their next two Premiership fixtures.
And it’s a four-day challenge the Perth boss relishes.
“We are the underdogs and that is probably when we are at our best,” said Davidson. “When teams come and have a go at us and don’t sit in.
“I’m glad to be the underdogs.
“Teams took notice of us last season but Hearts and Dundee United will expect to beat us.
“Hearts are one of the biggest clubs in Scotland and all credit goes to Robbie (Neilson) as they have brought in good players.
“They have a certain way they play and he sticks to his principles. It is similar to how we played last season.
“I don’t think about being the first team to beat Hearts. It’s about getting the three points for St Johnstone.
“We want to finish this quarter strongly, climb the league and put pressure on teams above us.
“To do that we need to start winning some games.”
Plenty to be pleased with
Davidson, who expects to welcome Murray Davidson and Michael O’Halloran back into his squad after the weekend loss to Celtic, added: “The players are upbeat and apart from Livingston we are happy with how we are going.
“Results could be better but performance levels have been good and we know what we want to do.
“Take out the manner in which we lost the goals against Livingston and there has been a lot to be pleased about in our performances.
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— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) October 26, 2021
“We know what we’re about as a team – defending well, working hard and keeping our shape.
“We try to get into the final third as quickly as we can and get balls into the box.
“We’ve done that for the majority of the season but the wee breaks and decisions have gone against us at times. There are some obvious ones in there.
“We have to be up for the fight against Hearts. We are a good team and we have proved that last season.”
