St Johnstone goalkeeper Stevie Banks has admitted he came out of retirement only to be made redundant by a dominant display by his teammates.
Banks, 41, struck a lonely figure at McDiarmid Park on Saturday as he watched Saints rip Ross County apart in front of him.
They could and should have won by far more than the final result of 4-0, such was their superiority over the hapless Highlanders.
Banks, who joined as goalkeeping coach in the summer but has dusted off his gloves again to cover for the injured Alan Mannus, could hardly have had an easier debut than the one he got against the struggling Staggies.
Asked if Saints should have at least doubled their goals tally, Banks admitted: “Yeah, possibly. I’m not too fussed, though, because it was the zero at my end that I cared most about, to be honest.
“But yeah, sometimes you wonder if you will pay for it because, having gone 2-0 up and missed a penalty, all we needed was for them to score a goal in the first five minutes of the second half and they would have been right back in it.
“Our boys were determined to come out after half-time and show that it would be us pushing them and we went on to win quite comfortably in the end.”
So was it a stroll in the park?
“I would like to think that it was the team performance that made it like that,” said Banks.
“I thought the boys were tremendous, from the back four forward. We put in an awful lot of effort as well as playing really well.
“I wouldn’t take anything away from our team. I think we were the ones who made them look maybe not as good as they usually are.”
With a comment that must have hurt County boss Derek Adams, home manager Tommy Wright joked that he could have played in goal instead of Banks, such was his team’s dominance.
The 49-year-old Wright said: “I did joke that I could have played but we wouldn’t have been able to find a top big enough for me!”
When told of his manager’s tongue-in-cheek remark, Banks replied: “Yeah I heard that and the boys are also saying that he is younger than me as well!
“I didn’t have much to do but I look upon that as a positive thing for me.”
Banks conceded that, while he is loving being back in goal, he will happily stand aside once Mannus is fit again.
“Alan is out for six weeks so I think that takes us to the end of the international break,” said the former Dundee United man who will return to his old club with his new one this weekend.
“Hopefully, he will then be fighting fit and ready to come back in. I know what I am here for and what my job is which makes it easier for me to accept dropping out again.
“Alan has been top drawer for us so, given his form, I will be happy to go back into the background. The gaffer has talked about him being one of the best keepers in the league, and he certainly is.”