The possibility of leaving St Johnstone in the summer was briefly floated for Sven Sprangler.
But cutting short his stay at McDiarmid Park was never a palatable option for the Austrian midfielder.
And now that he’s a pivotal part of the Perth starting line-up again, Sprangler knows he made the right decision to fight for his Saints future.
“Football is my life and when you’re not involved, of course you are angry,” said the 29-year-old, who was only selected by Craig Levein for the last game of his tenure.
“But I’ve kept that anger to me and put it into every training session to show the gaffer he was wrong.
“And I also wanted to show that when he needed me in the team I would be here for him.
“I always wanted to stay here.
“St Johnstone gave me the opportunity to play in Scotland and I’m so grateful for that and happy to be here.
“There was a short conversation but it was never an option in my head to leave.
“Even when I wasn’t in the team I wanted to be at this club.
“Absolutely, it was the right decision to stay.
“This feels like home. I said it a year ago after I arrived and it’s still the same.”
Feeling the love
Sprangler is the definition of a consummate pro – something Levein wouldn’t dispute, despite his reluctance to pick him this season.
So wanting to earn a spot back in the Saints team would have been enough motivation in itself.
But he also referenced the support he has received from fans.
“The supporters have been so good with me,” said Sprangler. “That means a lot.
“When I wasn’t in the team people would say: ‘You should be on the park’. That showed me that they cared and helped me when it was tough.
“It was a huge boost and I’m very grateful.
“I missed football a lot.
“First, I was injured for three months which was very hard.
“I had hoped to get back before the end of last season but I knew once I went back on the training pitch that I wouldn’t be fit enough.
“I wanted to come back for the last two games so badly but it would have been too risky.
“I’d got back in the team before my injury.”
Questions have been asked about leadership on the pitch in light of all the set-piece goals Saints have been conceding, with the last one at Ross County the most painful of the lot.
“Firstly, I would say that we do have leadership in the squad,” said Sprangler.
“When I’m playing my main goal is always to help the team.
“I will give everything for the club in every minute.
“Hopefully my experience can help – I’m 29 now and have had a lot of ups and downs in my career.
“I’ve seen a lot in football.
“I would be happy if the players saw me as one of the leaders.
“The first thing that matters in any team is that if you train good, you play good.
“We’re putting a lot of effort into our training but sometimes wrong decisions are costing us goals in matches.
“We know we need to minimise those.
“Every set-piece we need to be 100% concentrated and protect the goal in any way we can.
“It’s simple. That’s what we have to do.”
Channelling the anger
He added: “The players were angry with each other after the Ross County game, which is definitely a good thing.
“We know what we’ve done wrong and now we need to show it against Celtic.
“We need to be an angry team on Saturday.
“That’s still how we feel because we threw away two points.
“It was a noisy dressing room and a long, quiet bus journey back.
“Celtic is Celtic.
“You don’t have to say anything about the qualities they have in their team. They’re the champions and we know what they’re capable of.
“From the first minute to the last we need to fight.”
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