For a team that is five points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership, St Johnstone’s record against other relegation battle rivals is, perhaps surprisingly, very good.
Ross County, it’s seven points to one in their favour.
In the three fixtures with Kilmarnock, it’s six to three.
Saints and Dundee both have a win, a draw and a defeat in their head to heads.
Motherwell and St Mirren are the two bottom six clubs to have an advantage over the Perth side – but it’s only six points to three in each case.
The reason Saints are where they are isn’t how they have fared against the sides around them.
It’s their lamentable record against the historic ‘big six’ – Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United – who happen to also be the current top six.
Courier Sport looks at the historic context of this season’s slump on that front.
This graph lays bare the scale of the drop-off.
Since Derek McInnes brought Saints back to the top table, they have always amassed a double figures total against the historic power houses of Scottish football.
The record between 2009/10 and 2016/17 is particularly impressive, with the Perth side only dropping below the 15-point mark in one year out of eight.
There’s an argument to be made that, although there was a cup double in 2021, this 15-year top-flight spell has two phases, with the downturn beginning as early as 2017/18.
Even against a backdrop of diminishing returns, however, to only have three points so far this season is alarming.
Before Saints’ last game, it was just two.
Craig Levein didn’t pick up any points before being sacked, while there have been two draws against Aberdeen and one versus Hibs under Valakari.
Hibs, Celtic and United are up next.
If Saints are still winless by split time, you have to think their relegation fate will have been sealed.
Conversely, if they are in touch, their record against the lower-placed clubs would be fuel for optimism.
Points average
Saints have picked up more points against Aberdeen over the last 16 seasons than any of the others (63).
With Hibs and United to come in the next few weeks, the good news is that those are the top two when it comes to a points per game average.
It’s 1.31 against the Edinburgh side and 1.29 for the Tangerines.
Saints are currently averaging over a point per game against all of the six, apart from Rangers and Celtic.
Taking that average into account for this season, par would be 13.81 points so far.
Had Saints hit that, they would be in the top six and pushing for Europe.
Hearts haul the best
Not only was the highest mark achieved in 2011/12 (23 points) it was also the one campaign when they completed the full set of picking up points against all six opponents.
The 2014/15 season is arguably the most impressive, though.
Saints reached 18 points without Rangers, Hearts and Hibs being in the division.
Saints have the chance to make the total against Hibs more respectable this weekend.
The way things stand, it’s their record in contests with the other capital city team which has been the most harmful.
As was the case in the two previous seasons, the grand total sits at zero.
It’s a far cry from 2016/17 when Tommy Wright’s squad picked up 10 points in their matches against Hearts.
That remains the most against an individual ‘big six’ club.
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