St Johnstone finished the opening stage of the Premiership season in the top six.
And staying there for the duration of the league campaign is now their goal, according to manager Callum Davidson.
Pretty much every statistic – not to mention the naked eye – tells you Saints are a better team than the one whose top flight status was in jeopardy until the very end of the previous term.
But squeezing more out of his current squad will be essential if the Perth side are to prevail in a highly competitive battle to stay out of the relegation zone and in the upper half of the table.
And Davidson is convinced they’ve got the capacity to elevate their performance level.
“I think we have looked a real goal threat in the first part of the season,” he said. “We definitely have more goals in us these days.
“And at the back we are being more ruthless – the goals against record shows that.
“So overall I think there has been improvement, especially getting more attacking players in the team.
“But I still think there is a lot of improvement to come and I think we can get better.
“The last few results were good, going five games unbeaten, but even before that we felt we were worth a draw in some matches.
😱 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 😱
Nicky Clark's magical finish makes it 2-0 against Rangers 🚨 pic.twitter.com/51h2BUvKTp
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 6, 2022
“We have to come back from the break and really kick on.
“It’s only the first phase of the season gone and there’s a lot of football to still be played.
“Hopefully we can put ourselves in a position to push for the top six. That is the big goal for the season.
“It’s another really competitive league so there will be plenty other teams thinking the same at this stage.
“But I believe we have built a squad and have the mentality to push on towards that this season.”
Heading changes
Meanwhile, Davidson welcomed the SFA’s recent announcement about limiting heading practice in training.
“I can understand why they’re bringing it in and everyone will have to deal with the changes,” he said.
“The whole of football will have to look at it.
“That will be by continuing to develop the balls the way they have been and changing the way we work day to day.
“Heading is an important part of the game and it is a skill players will still need to work on, so it will be about finding a way to practice their timing but without the pressure on their bodies.
“We will have to find ways to replicate that timing and the flight of the ball but without force.”
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