Ali Crawford insists he’s back at St Johnstone to fight for his place.
The attacker was on target as Saints capped off their pre-season campaign with a 3-0 win at East Fife.
And after opting to spend the final three months of last term on loan with Greenock Morton, Crawford is determined to ensure he still has a future in Perth.
“I’m absolutely here to get back into the side,” he said.
“The only reason I left last year was because I wasn’t getting any game time.
“I felt I was still good enough to play and if I wasn’t playing [at St Johnstone], I wanted to play somewhere.
“It was important for me to get game time and come back in the summer and try again.
“It’s been a stop-start pre-season for me. I’m at the age where you pick up the wee niggles.
Ali Crawford opened the scoring with a clinical finish at the back post 👊 pic.twitter.com/oJrizHtQXs
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) July 12, 2023
“But it’s good to get a run-out last Tuesday and another 45 against East Fife. Hopefully I can kick on.”
Crawford was largely employed off the bench in the first half of last season, then popped up with a late, post-World Cup break double against Ross County as Saints moved to within a point of third-placed Aberdeen.
It might have changed his season for the better but, in the aftermath, he again found minutes hard to come by.
As such, the chance to play regular football with Morton was one he felt he couldn’t turn down.
But now he’s back in Perth, that’s the only place he wants to be.
“I view my loan as pretty average, to be honest,” he said.
“I’ve still got high expectations of myself and I probably should have helped them a lot more than I did.
“It was a fresh start for me, a no-brainer for me, with a team that was pushing to get into the play-offs and were unlucky not to do so.
“The main thing was getting game time, though, that was most important.
Star was ‘disappointed’ to leave on loan
“I was disappointed to go out on loan in the first place. I was quite happy where I was.
“It’s a great group of guys (at St Johnstone), I was enjoying everything about it. But then I was sitting on the bench and not getting any game time.
“As a player the most important thing is to get on the pitch and show what you can do.
“Unfortunately, chances were very limited so it was right for me to get out somewhere else.”
Crawford is now hoping for a fresh start as part of a smaller, more youthful squad at McDiarmid Park.
Manager Steven MacLean is keen to empower his players to get the ball down and play on the front foot.
That’s a prospect that has Crawford excited about the season ahead.
“Hopefully it’s a fresh start. That’s what the new manager has said when we came back in,” he said.
“It’s a clean slate for everyone so there’s no reason why I can’t get a run in the team and score like I did tonight.
“It was a massive squad last year, probably too big.
“That didn’t work in my favour. You were kind of fighting to be on the bench, not even a starting position.
“The squad was that big you could’ve played 11 v 11 and had subs. That was never going to work.
“[The new manager] wants a smaller squad, that will bring competition for places. I just need to get the head down and keep working hard.
“I feel I could enjoy playing for the new manager. The formation he’s playing could suit me better.
“I don’t want to throw Callum under the bus but his 3-5-2 didn’t really suit the way I wanted to play.
“I liked to get the ball down and get things moving. The formation Macca plays, it’s there for the forward-thinking players to do that.
“I am looking forward to working under him.”
