Put on the transfer list.
Picking up a microphone at five to three on a match day when he yearned to be lacing up his boots.
Coming back in from the wilderness under a caretaker boss.
Suffering a bout of chicken pox at the age of 34.
Getting a stud-shaped hole in his foot from Connor Goldson and being booked for it.
Then, with a goalmouth block and a ‘thou shalt not pass’ mindset, keeping St Johnstone in the Premiership.
Nobody could describe Ryan McGowan’s last season with the Perth club as uneventful.
In fact, it’s hard to grasp the fact that the Australian defender was only at McDiarmid Park for two years, such was the affection built up between player and supporters in a relatively small chunk of a long career.
Now an ex-Saint, McGowan loved every minute of his time in the Fair City.
There’s pride that professionalism rather than petted lip kicked in when he was made available for transfer and pride in the fact that at the end of both seasons, as relegation pressure intensified, he was one of biggest factors in top flight status being preserved.
‘Loved my time’
“It was only a St Johnstone player for two years but I loved being part of the club and had a great relationship with the fans,” McGowan told Courier Sport.
“They’ve got great staff and there were a brilliant group of boys who probably didn’t do as well as we should have.
“But from a personal point of view, I loved my time there and I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about St Johnstone.
“Ross County finished in the play-offs both the years I was at the club and had a bigger budget than us.
“In the first year, clubs like Dundee United and Killie were below us.
“It is a really tough league to stay in.
“If you get a lot of injuries or go on a bad run it’s very easy to slip into the play-offs or even go straight down.”
The wilderness months
McGowan didn’t kick a ball for the best part of three months.
Manager Steven MacLean made the decision to transfer-list him after a lamentable start to the season for the Perth side.
August to November turned into a test of character rather than of fitness or ability.
“It was a wild kind of season, he said.
“I thought I’d probably seen it all by this stage of my career but there were a few new things that came my way.
“I was really excited going into the season – I thought Macca had done very well at the end of the previous one after getting the job in difficult circumstances.
“I was a bit behind the eight-ball in pre-season with an injury and I didn’t start the season as well as I would have hoped.
“I got pulled in to say I was on the transfer list.
“At that point I understood that as one of the older players I had to be a good role model, making sure I trained well and was a good professional.
“If I’d thrown in the towel, it would have sent a bad message to the younger ones. I made a conscious effort to be a real positive influence on a Monday to Friday.
“Football can change super-quick.
“My first appearance on the bench was St Mirren away, which ended up being Macca’s last game in charge.
“So it felt like I was coming back into his plans and that stood me in good stead for the Kilmarnock game when Eck (Alex Cleland) took over. I played pretty much every game from then on.”
McGowan added: “When you’re out injured it’s tough.
“But seeing the team struggling when I was fit and available was even tougher.
“It was probably one of the most frustrating parts of my career – coming into training every day, knowing that unless there were loads of injuries I wouldn’t be playing at the weekend.
“I learned a lot about myself through those hard weeks – months, as it turned out.”
Worthy of celebration
There’s naturally a mixture of emotions when you reflect on going all the way to the last game of your season – and a few minutes beyond – before staying in the Premiership was assured.
Memories of three trophy lifts, several European campaigns and even more top six finishes are still fresh in the mind of Perth supporters.
But none of that detracts from the fact that celebrations at the far end of Fir Park in the late afternoon Lanarkshire sun were justified. And deserved.
“I remember that if we’d won at Dens in February we’d have gone above Dundee into the top six,” said McGowan.
“Being 1-0 up and losing was a bit of a turning point for us. We went on a bad run after that.
“But the boys deserve credit for digging in and making sure we avoided the play-offs.
“My last moments as a St Johnstone player were celebrating, if you can describe it like that, with the fans at Motherwell. It was a special moment.
“It’s not a position you’d choose to be in but the emotions when you win a game like that, in that way, shouldn’t be downplayed.
“It meant a lot to the players, the fans and everyone at the club.
“As silly as it might sound, we ended on a real high.
“Everyone who was there will understand what I was saying.
“And it could help the club going into next season.
“If we’d done it in a less dramatic way a couple of weeks earlier, the season would have petered out and there wouldn’t have been much momentum.
“But hopefully there’s a bit of a wave the club can now ride and use to get off to a fast start in the League Cup and the Premiership.”
Keeping their heads above water
Now as an outsider looking in, McGowan believes Premiership-ready signings can ensure the succession of relegation battles is broken.
“As much as the club had been used to being in the top six or close to it, there are others who have been a lot more sensible in terms of who they bring in and recruited very well,” said the former Hearts man.
“Knowing the league is very important.
“Each and every year that standard is getting higher.
“Fingers crossed, St Johnstone can recruit well and be more comfortable in the league, pushing for top six rather than looking over their shoulder.
“There is a good nucleus there already to build on and younger ones who have the potential to be seasoned professionals in the Premiership.
“They probably need four or five who know the league – players who will go straight into the starting XI or challenge for those spots.
“Craig Levein has been around the block long enough to know that.
“There were quite a few of us coming to the end of our contracts last season.
“You could understand it from the club’s position – they didn’t know what league we were going to be in or the budget they’d have.
“But at the same time clubs who knew they were safe could make moves and prepare for the following season.
“Dimi (Mitov) basically kept us in the league, didn’t he? He’s gone.
“And with myself, Liam (Gordon), Andy (Considine) and Luke (Robinson) all leaving, that’s near enough a whole new defence needed.
“Drey Wright will be important – people underestimate his value to the team.
“In my first year he contributed goals and assists.
“At the end of last season when he returned you could see the quality he has, whether that was at wing-back or as an advanced full-back.
“Keeping him injury-free will be a big thing.”
Life after playing
McGowan will be nearly 37 by the time his contract at Livingston comes to an end.
A second career in the media or in a tracksuit could follow.
“I don’t know yet exactly what I want to do after I finish playing,” he said.
“I’ve got a two-year deal with Livi and we’ll see how the body feels after that.
“I really enjoy the media side of it – even though doing the co-comms at Easter Road when I was on the transfer list was a tough one!
“I’ve got a good appreciation of its importance to the game.
“But I also enjoy helping younger players. I’ve played in a lot of different countries over my career so have built up plenty of experience to pass on.
“I’ll focus on one or the other when I hang up my boots.
“Football has been my whole life so hopefully I’ll stay in the game.”
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