Stevie May’s been part of three cup wins with St Johnstone.
But he believes the fight to extricate the Perth club from their Premiership plight carries significance that stands alongside his era-defining glories.
And, back in the starting line-up for the 1-1 draw with Livingston at the weekend, May led from the front with a display full of the endeavour the situation demands.
“This club means a lot to me so I want to be involved,” said the former Scotland international.
“I want to be affecting things and playing my part in us staying in the league.
“This is as important as anything I’ve been involved in.
“Murray Davidson touched on it last week. He’s been here a long time and all the time I have been here too we have never been in this situation.
“We’ve been bottom at times but we have always managed to do enough to get our way out of it.
“This season is tougher than ever before so it’s about grinding out results now.
“Working hard and wanting it more is going to be a big part of it. If we’re going to stay in the league we’ll have to bring that to every game.
“If we are in the play-offs, the team we play will be desperate to get up so we will have to match that desire and do everything we can.”
The performance and point at Livingston restored positivity in the Perth dressing room, according to May, even though they were just a few minutes away from winning.
Far better place
“We are in a far better place than we were a few months ago when we were bottom of the league,” he said.
“We managed to get ourselves off the bottom so the next stage now is securing the play-off and getting through that.
“That’s the way we have to look at it.
“We have worked hard to get off the foot of the table.
“There have been a few bumps – the Celtic game and the St Mirren game last weekend are the two that stick out.
“But the form in the last few months would have us mid-table in the league, so there has been some good moments.
“We had to bring a performance after last weekend and I felt we did that.
“It would have been nice to get the win but the point takes us further away from the bottom.
“The bigger picture is that we’re in a better position now than we were before the game so we have to take it.”
Hendry-May can click again
May’s recall broke up the Callum Hendry-Nadir Ciftci partnership that Callum Davidson has favoured recently.
The former Preston man has had to be patient for his chance.
“It’s frustrating when you’re out of the team so it was good to get back in,” he said.
“I have been working hard in training and feel like I have been doing well.
“I haven’t let it affect me. I have been making sure I’m fit and ready to go.
“We need everyone together and pulling in the right direction.
“So for me it was about waiting for that chance and taking it when it came around.”
May added: “Callum and I have played well together in the past.
“He has been brilliant since he came back. He’s contributed loads to us as a team
“We can complement each other.
“He’s someone I enjoy playing with and hopefully we can do well for the team in the games coming up.”
