St Johnstone manager, Craig Levein, believes the Perth club’s Premiership survival bid now has strong foundations.
And his players’ last couple of performances – in defeat to Dundee and winning away at Hibs – have given him faith that Saints are “turning a corner”.
No statistic highlights the McDiarmid Park side’s Jekyll and Hyde make-up better than their failure to win back-to-back games all season.
Putting that right against Kilmarnock on Saturday would be further proof that they are at last becoming a team to trust.
“We want to keep this good form going,” said Levein.
“There’s no doubt we’ve been inconsistent.
“We had such a good performance and win in Aberdeen and then you were looking at games after that thinking ‘how did we lose that?’
“Those last two performances have given me a better feeling about things.
“It feels like there’s a bit more reliability that individuals will put in good performances that give you a collective one.
“There was a long time that we couldn’t win away from home.
“We’ve picked up three since the break and now we’d love to get one in front of our own supporters.
“There have been some tough games in that time but, like I say, I do feel as if we’re turning a corner a wee bit.
“We’re looking like we can score.
“You don’t always get what you deserve in football. That was the case against Dundee.
“When you have a couple of good performances, you need to get some points to show for it.
“That’s why Saturday’s win was so important.”
Kilmarnock next
Killie will be formidable opponents.
The Rugby Park side are on course to secure European football, having opened up a gap of five points between fourth and fifth in the league table.
“Kilmarnock are strong up front and at the back,” said Levein. “They’ve got some big lads and they’ve got legs in midfield.
“Derek’s teams are always built in his image and this one certainly is.”
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