St Johnstone are closing in on the top six of the Premiership without hitting top gear, according to club captain Dave Mackay.
And the experienced defender has admitted that making it into the upper half of the table is their next goal.
The start of the campaign was a troublesome one for the Perth men. But, after an excellent November, Mackay believes Saints are starting to get back into the old routine.
“At the beginning of the season we needed a few faces to freshen it up,” he recalled.
“With Stevie May leaving and then the likes of Steven MacLean and Tam Scobbie getting injured we were struggling when the transfer window closed.
“But the manager managed to bring in Simon Lappin, James McFadden, Brian Graham and those boys are really settled in now.
“We’re starting to look at lot like ourselves again, there’s competition for places again and I think we’re getting back to what we’re capable of.
“We’ve had a really slow start to the season and have not played anywhere near what we can.
“But we’ve not hit top gear and are only three points off the top six, so there’s plenty of time to get ourselves in there.
“That is our aim, we’ve done it the last few seasons and we think we’re capable of doing it again.
“Once you get in there, that’s when you can think about looking higher up the league.
“But for the moment, getting into the top half of the league is the aim.”
Saints are just three points off sixth spot, and next up are struggling St Mirren on Saturday.
Mackay’s team will be favourites to extend the Buddies’ miserable run of form, but the McDairmd Park men have already lost once to Tommy Craig’s side this season, so are taking nothing for granted.
He said: “St Mirren have had injuries to key players because guys like Steven Thompson, Isaac Osbourne and John McGinn are massive players for them.
“It’s tough for any team when that happens but I think on their day they’re as good as anyone.
“But when you’re losing games it can become a habit, just like winning games does.
“I just hope they don’t get back to winning ways against us this weekend.”
One of the keys to Saints’ revival has been the form of James McFadden.
Mackay believes boss Tommy Wright should take some credit for that.
“All James needed was a run of games and a position that suits him,” he explained.
“At Motherwell he was playing out wide and I don’t think he wants to play there.
“But here the manager has told him he’ll be in behind the striker, which suits him to a tee.
“You never lose quality like he’s had, the legs might go a little bit, but that quality stays there.
“Nobody ever questioned the ability he has, it was always about fitness.
“When he came in he was fit enough, it was just match sharpness and that was always going to take him a few games.
“But we’re now starting to see the best of him again he’s a huge asset and we’re delighted to have him.”