How St Johnstone have fared coming back from international breaks will be something for manager Callum Davidson to ponder on Saturday night.
There will be a League Cup semi-final to be won.
For now, ensuring a proud record of never having lost going into one of those fortnights off is continued against St Mirren is his sole focus.
Since taking over from Tommy Wright the Perth boss has overseen three victories and one draw prior to a break.
And this weekend’s opponents feature heavily in the story, even when they weren’t the opposition.
St Johnstone 1-0 St Mirren – 19/08/2020
Coming after two home games which ended in late defeats, this was a significant victory for Davidson and his team.
They had dominated Aberdeen and Hibs but couldn’t turn excellent play between the boxes into goals and points.
Avoiding an unwanted McDiarmid Park hat-trick was essential.
The Buddies were second best in every department and Saints should have had more than Stevie May’s near post, 72nd minute finish to show for it.
Stevie May was on target last season against St Mirren 🎯
Looking forward to some home crowd noise this time out🥁 #SJFC pic.twitter.com/fXAFRWarO6
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) November 3, 2021
St Johnstone 1-0 Ross County – 20/03/2021
This is a game that gave Glenn Middleton a memory to cherish.
Thrown on as a second half substitute, the on-loan Rangers forward scored a dramatic late winner.
Coupled with St Mirren’s draw at Hamilton, it meant Saints secured top six football and European qualification through their league position suddenly became a possibility.
It was Middleton’s first goal of the season and there was even better yet to come as all St Mirren fans know only too well.
🙌@RossCounty 🦌 v @StJohnstone 👼
🏆 @cinchuk Premiership
🏟 Global Energy Stadium
🗓 Saturday 31st July
🕰 15:00 kick-offGlenn Middleton sealed a top 6⃣ finish with this late strike the last time they met!
Predict Now. Win Prizes. https://t.co/Xw8bCxiTH4 #SPFL #ROSSTJ pic.twitter.com/k1i4qySVlQ
— SPFL (@spfl) July 30, 2021
St Mirren 0-0 St Johnstone – 29/08/2021
From the memorable to the instantly forgettable.
This season’s draw was probably a better one for Davidson’s side than Jim Goodwin’s.
Speculation about the possible departures of star players over the subsequent couple of days was building and the match proved to be the last for Jason Kerr and Ali McCann in St Johnstone colours.
The Perth side were poor in the first half but improved after the break and nearly snatched all three points when Middleton struck the crossbar with a free-kick at the death.
St Johnstone 3-1 Dundee – 2/10/2021
The last time Saints went into an international break they did so in style.
The backline was an untested one but the hosts played superbly, with Michael O’Halloran, Chris Kane and Stevie May stars of the show in a one-sided contest.
It’s the biggest margin of victory at McDiarmid in a Premiership match since Davidson took charge.
Something similar against St Mirren on Saturday would do nicely.
