St Johnstone boss Steve Lomas believes his side still have every chance of earning another crack at Europa League action next season despite being held to a goal-less draw in the Highlands.
Having cemented their top six spot ahead of the split, Saints moved into fourth place in the SPL courtesy of their stalemate with Inverness, although the gap between themselves and last night’s hosts remains five points.
But with just five fixtures now remaining, Lomas reckons it’s all to play for in the run-in.
“That point could be vital come the end of the year,” he said.
“If Inverness won, they would have been eight points ahead and out of sight, but it’s still on. It’s a tall order and you want to have the points in the bag.
“We know five points will be difficult to make up but listen, we might get the rub of the green and get three home games come the split. We’re capable of beating anybody at home.”
“It would have been a travesty if we hadn’t at least got a point tonight because I thought in terms of our away performance it was very good,” said Lomas.
“A lot of teams coming up here have taken hidings so it was good to get a draw in some ways.”
Lomas would love to see his team claw their way into one of the European spots so supporters can enjoy the kind of nights the club experienced in the games against Eskisehirspor earlier this season.
“We’ve had a little taste of Europe with Hearts winning the cup last year and the fans thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said.
“We had a great away journey to Turkey, made some very good friends and put on a very good show against an expensively assembled Turkish team. We would love to do it again but so would a lot of other clubs.
“We’re delighted to be in the top six above a whole host of clubs with great tradition. It just goes to show you the achievement of St Johnstone, Ross County and Inverness to get in there.”
Caley boss Terry Butcher was disappointed with his side’s performance but hopes they can kick on in the top six.
“St Johnstone are a good side going forward, they’ve got loads of forwards they can throw on and we haven’t,” he said.
“We had the best chances of the game to win but a draw was always going to be on the cards really.”
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