The curtain will finally come down on Liam Craig’s St Johnstone career on Sunday when he plays his last match for Saints against Motherwell.
The midfielder has signed a pre-contract with Hibs and will be plying his trade at Easter Road next season. Before that though, he wants to finish with a flourish by helping the Perth side qualify for Europe for the second season in a row.
To do that, they must beat the Steelmen and hope Ross County can deny Inverness victory in the Highland derby in Dingwall. No matter what eventually happens in the two games, Sunday is certain to be an emotional day for Craig and his family.
He said: “If someone had said to us after our poor start to the season that we would be playing Motherwell on the last day with a place in Europe at stake, we would have bitten their hand off.
“Obviously, we are relying on the result up the road but all we can do is take care of ourselves and see what happens. If it ultimately takes us to finishing fourth in the league, then the season will still have been a success.
“There is a lot at stake but even if there wasn’t, I would still be determined to go out on a high. It is the end of the season and there is a long wait until your next game.
“The fact that it is my last match for St Johnstone, it would be nice to sign off with a win and if that takes us into Europe, it would be excellent.
“It would be a great farewell gift to the fans. “I think if you ask any of our fans, they still speak about the famous Monaco game and rightly so.
“We made a wee bit of history last year going to Turkey and while the result wasn’t what we wanted, we got them back here and kept that record going.
“We saw what it meant to the fans and the town as well so if I can play my part on Sunday and help them get back into Europe, then great.
“I have had a great five and a half years here. We have progressed every year and have finished higher up the league every season.
“We are going to do that again this year as regardless of what happens on Sunday, we will finish higher than sixth.”
Craig admitted that he was surprised he had stayed so long at St Johnstone but he believes that longevity has ironically given him the confidence to move to Hibs.
He said: “The fact that only myself and Ando (Steven Anderson) are still here from the day I signed just shows you that players spending long periods at the same club does not happen now.
“So it has been great to be here for so long and to play in most of the games as well. I have been fortunate with injury and I have had a great spell here.
“But there just comes a time when you think you should move on and I am looking forward to the challenge next year. I look at Hibs and I think it is a big club with the potential to be a massive one.
“Three or four years ago, I maybe would not have been ready for that move but the way St Johnstone have improved me, I feel I can face the challenge head on.”
Craig admitted that there had been a few lows during his time at Saints but they were more than outweighed by the high points.
He said: “The Rangers cup game when they beat us on penalties when I was on loan here at the time still sticks out like a sore thumb.
“We knew we would have been playing Queen of the South in the final in a game we could have won.
“In terms of highlights, there have been many. Beating Rangers 4-1 here, Hibs 5-1 and the victory over Celtic at Parkhead.”