St Johnstone midfielder Martin Hardie has promised he would repay the club”s faith should they keep him on for next season.
Hardie is four weeks into his recovery from a cruciate tendon reconstruction operation.
The damage was done on November 17, but surgery was delayed as he also suffered a leg compound fracture and needed surgery on that first.
However, the 34-year-old has declared himself to be ahead of schedule and believes he would be ready to play in the first team as early as September.
His contract runs out in the summer and his future is one of several to be decided by the board in conjunction with manager Derek McInnes.
So his destiny is out of his own hands but Hardie is in no doubt that should he be offered a fresh contract then he would not let Saints down.
“I would say I am ahead of schedule already and I am delighted with that,” he said.
“My next assessment will be in two weeks’ time when I will see the surgeon and I am sure he will be very pleased.
“I always said I was looking forward to the cruciate op because I knew I would be kicking on and getting moving. That is the way it has panned out so far.”
Hardie knows he will have to leave it to others to decide whether or not he stays at McDiarmid Park. He can only knuckle down and recover his fitness.
“It will be up to the manager if he wants to keep me, then, in turn, the manager has to speak to the chairman,” said Hardie.
“The manager has players who are playing for him right now and I am just unfortunate that my contract is up in the summer.
McInnes, meanwhile, declined to comment on strong speculation linking him with Dundee striker Leigh Griffiths.
Instead, he focused on a striker who is already at the club.
“We were not at our best on Saturday against Aberdeen but I prefer to see the positives and one of those was Andy Jackson getting back involved,” he said.
“I am delighted for wee Jacko, not just for his part in the goal but for his general play. He is starting to look fitter and stronger. It has taken him a while to get to this level.
“The loan at Arbroath didn’t work as well as we had hoped but we decided to bring him back and in the Motherwell bounce game during the week he looked great and made me think about involving him against Aberdeen.
“I thought he took a few hits, imposed himself on the central defenders and looked better than he has been.”
Peter MacDonald has had his knee op done and the club are waiting to speak to the surgeon to get a report.
Saints were meant to be playing Celtic in a bounce game on Tuesday but that has been cancelled due to the Hoops meeting Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in a friendly match on Wednesday.