The St Johnstone players ran themselves into the ground to earn a draw with the Scottish champions, Celtic.
And now Perth boss, Steven MacLean, is demanding the same again in a clash with local rivals, Dundee to hopefully earn an even bigger reward.
MacLean revealed that he had players who clocked up 13 kilometres at Celtic Park.
It was a vast improvement on the worrying data that came out of the previous Premiership fixture against Ross County.
The MacLean “culture” now has a foundation.
“The running stats were the highest of the season,” said the McDiarmid Park manager. “By a long way.
“A couple of the players were really high.
“They’re the distances you need to go if you’re going to get a result at Parkhead.
“You need to be hitting 12 and 13k and have high speed running.
“That was off a shape as well – it wasn’t just running for the sake of it.
“We transitioned well too.
Great result, something to build on💪🏻❤️#SJFC https://t.co/1bTtsH6P2r
— Jay Turner-Cooke (@Jayturnercooke7) August 26, 2023
“We’d dropped significantly off that against Ross County.
“Listen, every game is different. I know that. The Parkhead pitch is massive and the ball is in play for longer.
“I’m not obsessed with numbers but they’re there to back-up your opinion.
“It’s a platform and standard they’ve set.”
Extra work
MacLean added: “We’re trying to create that culture at the club.
“People are here to work – I’m seeing boys staying late to do extra in the gym or on the training ground.
“That’s the way football is these days. It’s moving on. If you don’t move with it, you’ll be left behind.
“The boys will be ready to go again. We’ve worked hard this week as well.
“The way to get players to adapt to what you want from them is to keep doing it.
“To get high-speed running and transitions you need to keep at it in training.
“That’s why we do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
“Callum (Davidson) brought that in and I’ve kept it on.
“Everything is done before our rest day on Thursday.
“Then on a Friday there’s just a few bits and pieces to go over.”
Dundee energy and aggression
Like Saints, Dundee are coming into Saturday’s game on a high, having posted their first league victory since returning to the top flight.
“Tony has done a lot of business,” said MacLean. “Some good stuff.
“There are some players they’ve brought in who we spoke about.
“You can already see what you’re going to get from a Tony Doc team – work-rate, energy, aggression.
Yesterday's presser featuring Tony Docherty & Finlay Robertson is now available to watch on DeeTV.#thedee pic.twitter.com/Z1IavNlnrL
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) August 31, 2023
“And they can adapt because he’s played two different shapes.
“My players will be made aware of what’s coming.
“We’re looking forward to it.
“Hopefully we can get our creative players forward so they can affect the game.”
Conversation