His injury woes are behind him and now Chris Millar is closing in on a new St Johnstone deal.
The midfielder yesterday revealed he is just three games away from extending his stay at Saints.
Rejuvenated Millar (33) has now clocked up 13 appearances this term after embracing a new fitness regime designed to prevent niggling groin and hamstring problems which plagued the early part of the campaign.
The Scottish Cup winner, who was lured from Morton by then manager Derek McInnes in 2008 to push for promotion from the Championship, is hoping to take another stride towards his target with a start in tomorrow’s William Hill Scottish Cup tie with Partick Thistle.
He is edging towards 300 appearances for the Perth club and Millar said: “I just need another three games for the contract extension to kick-in.
“I am over the injuries I had and I want to be here, 100%. I’m dying to reach that game threshold to trigger a new deal.
“I was given a new regime under the physio Tony Tompos when he came in and it seems to be working for me.
“I have been training and available for all the games, even when the gaffer has decided not to pick me. He has been looking after me and making sure I am right.”
Millar admitted he had to dig deep to battle through injury woes which had threatened to bury hopes of bagging a new deal.
He said: “Of course it was a worry when I was struggling to shake off those strains. But I always took it game by game. I knew the situation with my contract but I didn’t want it to prey on my mind.
“I love being with the boys and getting out on the training field and playing. I am still enjoying my football.
“I still think I have a few years left in me and I want to be at St Johnstone. There’s plenty left in the tank.”
The 2014 cup final win over Dundee United is the high water mark of Millar’s career and he’s desperate to repeat it.
“The Scottish Cup is still special to me, especially after we won it three years ago.
“At the start of any season you see it as a chance to win silverware and that’s even more the case here having won it.
“We have also reached plenty of semi-finals in my time here so we know how to get to the latter stages of cup competitions.
“We seem to be a good cup side. Hopefully that continues. I would love to reach another cup final before I finish playing.”
Manager Tommy Wright’s side have won two of the three encounters with the Jags this term, including a recent 1-0 victory at Firhill, with Jags attacker Christie Elliott controversially dismissed for clashing with Perth centre Graham Cummins as Saints played down the clock.
Millar said: “It maybe wasn’t the worst draw we could have got but it certainly wasn’t the best either. Partick will be a tough game. It always is.
“They dominated stretches of the last game at their place but we found a way to win, which is always good.
“I don’t think there will be any niggle hanging over from the last game. We just used our experience in going to the corner to play out the last few minutes.
“Their frustration maybe spilt over with the red card but Partick will be coming with confidence thinking they can get result against us.
“They are a better side than their league position would suggest. You can only judge teams when you go up against them and I rate Thistle.
“They might lack a cutting edge at times and that has maybe hindered them. But they play good football and are nice on the eye.
“I read Sean Welsh’s comments after the game against us and he was saying they saw us as role models in the sense that we manage to find ways to win games.
“That’s why we have had success over the last five or six years and we want more.”
