New St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has made his first signings since taking over from Steve Lomas last week.
Frazer Wright and Gary Miller put pen to paper on new deals with the club while midfielder Gary McDonald has left Morecambe to join Saints.
The 31-year-old, who has also played for Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Oldham and Hamilton, admitted he was delighted to sign a deal with the Perth side and is buzzing at the prospect of playing European football once again.
He said: “The interest first came to light when Steve Lomas was the manager but Tommy Wright had made it clear that he wanted me to sign. He’s been on at me quite a bit and made me feel really wanted.
“I was impressed by what he had to say and how he explained his plans for the club. He really sold the move to me, actually, and I just can’t wait to get started now.
“St Johnstone are a good club, the lads did brilliantly last season to get into Europe and the reward for that comes in a few weeks’ time. It’s great to have that to look forward to. I played in Europe with Aberdeen so have a bit of experience, although we got dumped out the season I was involved for them.
“But it’s something to really look forward to and will give the place a buzz when we meet up for pre-season. It’s going to be a hectic first few weeks, with the draw and then the start of training but you’d prefer that.
“We’ll get a few games in first and then be ready to go for whoever the draw throws up. As a player, you’d much rather be thrown into competitive games than playing pre-season friendlies against people.”
McDonald revealed that he had spoken with former Killie team-mate Wright before agreeing to sign on at Saints.
He said: “I really enjoyed my time at Morcambe, it was a good club with a great set of lads and a good manager.
“But I always wanted to come back up to the SPL at some stage and this move just felt right for me. I know Frazer Wright from Kilmarnock and spoke to him about the club. He told me good things so I’m happy he’s signed on again because he’s a good player.”
Meanwhile, Miller hailed the appointment of Wright as manager and hopes the smooth succession to replace Lomas will stand Saints in good stead as they prepare for another tilt at the Europa League.
He said: “The change of manager is a first for me, I’ve not had an assistant step up before but I think it’s a good thing. All the lads have loads of respect for Tommy and the continuity is important.
“He knows the players inside out, he knows the club and what the place is all about. We’ve all worked with him before so it’s not as though he’s going to have to go through a few months of settling in.
“That won’t be the case here and that’s important because of the European games coming up so quickly. Tommy has good experience, he was here last season when we were in Europe so he knows what it’s all about.
“It’s a good appointment for the club and everyone is just looking forward to kicking on next season again.”
Miller admitted he was delighted to sign his new deal with the club and now can’t wait to see who Saints will be paired with when the Europa League qualifying draw is made on June 24 in Nyon, Switzerland.
He added: “We have signed up a few of the boys and with Frazer signing on again we’ve got good experience.
“It’s good to have the experienced players signed up because they nurture the younger players again. There were a lot of us out of contract and not knowing exactly what was happening just a few weeks ago.
“But we’ve got guys signing on again and Europe to look forward to so things are really positive again.
“Europe last season was brilliant and we fared well against a very good team. It will take a big effort from everyone but we’re really looking forward to it.”