Stevie May did everything he could to “change the manager’s mind” and save his St Johnstone career.
But the Perth legend has revealed that he realised he was fighting a losing battle to stay in Craig Levein’s McDiarmid Park plans.
May left Saints for a season-long loan with Livingston last week and will be out of contract next summer.
He had drifted to the fringes of the first team and accepted there was little prospect of that situation changing.
“I had been told I wasn’t going to be featured at St Johnstone,” said May.
“I tried as long as I could to change the manager’s mind and do as much as I can, because it’s somewhere that’s close to home and I had been there for a long time.
“I didn’t want to leave at the drop of a hat and regret that decision.
“But it came to a point where the season had started, it was still the same case, and I had to go and play if I wanted to be involved.
“I wasn’t in squads, and it’s tough on a Saturday after having been involved for that long in football.
“The opportunity came about, I spoke to (ex-Saint) Ryan McGowan, the manager David Martindale, and it just made sense for me to come and play.”
Not slowing down
May, who won three cups with Saints, believes there is plenty of football left in him.
“I want to keep playing for as long as possible,” he told Record Sport.
“I was never fully relying on pace like some are, so even as I get older I can use game intelligence.
“You see players play until 35 or 36, comfortably, if they’re in a system that suits them and I don’t feel like I’ve slowed down a huge deal.
“I’ll still run all day. I’ve not played in a long time so it’s getting that fitness back, but I’ve not missed a training session in years.”
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