There have been plenty of St Johnstone teams Dave Mackay has played in that have had their untouchables.
But this current one certainly isn’t among them.
The captain’s armband won’t guarantee the defender an instant recall after suspension, and that’s just the way it should be, Mackay insisted.
The former Livingston man, who watched Saints win in Inverness, Greenock and Hamilton without him, is far from sure that he will be back in the side for the visit of Kilmarnock to McDiarmid Park this afternoon.
“You’ve got at least two players for every position,” he pointed out.
“Macca (Steven MacLean) was sitting in the stand next to me on Saturday saying, ‘it will be tough to get back in the team next week’. And that’s from the guy who was the top scorer in the league until recently.
“That shows you the kind of competition we’ve got across the park.”
Mackay added: “You always worry about getting back in the team after a suspension or injury.
“None of us have got any divine right to stroll back in.
“If the manager decides to leave me out that’s his decision and I can hardly go and batter his door down after the guys have won three games.
“The fact that I’m captain shouldn’t come into it. It will come down to the manager deciding whether I’m good enough to come back in and deserve to come back in.
“Obviously I hope he does pick me but it will be harsh on somebody to be left out.
“If I do get picked I’ll have to prove it was the right decision and play well.”
Mackay believes that the half-way line challenge that cost him his sending off against Caley Thistle wasn’t a straightforward red.
He said: “Looking back, I can see why he’s given it. But these days it seems you’re not allowed to tackle.
“At the time I didn’t even think it was a yellow, but after watching it again I think a yellow would have been about right. A red was harsh.
“I thought I was going to win the ball and, at the time, I felt I got it cleanly.
“My last red was a couple of seasons ago. And I hadn’t even been booked this season. It’s not as if I’ve got a reputation as a hard man!
“It’s never easy to watch games from the stand. Sometimes you’re injured so you can’t do anything about it but when it’s for a red card it’s more disappointing.
“The boys dug me out of a hole at Inverness.
“They were able to get through a tricky tie at Morton and won well at the weekend.
“It’s a great run of form.”
The defeat to Partick Thistle stands out among a cluster of recent wins and will serve as a reminder of what could go wrong today.
Mackay said: “This is another game that is winnable. But it’s only winnable if we turn up and play our best.
“We slipped up at home to Partick so we can never look at any game and think ‘there’s an easy three points’. That just doesn’t happen.
“Partick scored two unbelievable goals. We played OK it certainly wasn’t the worst performance of the season. We could easily have got out of it with a draw.
“Looking back, maybe that defeat spurred us on for the run of wins that we’ve had since.
“Killie have picked up recently so we know this one won’t be easy.”
Mackay doesn’t need any inside information from Alan Mannus about the threat Northern Irish striker Josh Magennis will pose.
“I know enough about him from playing against him,” he said.
“He played numerous positions at Aberdeen and never really nailed one down. He had a slow start at Killie but this season he’s been flying and has scored a couple of important goals for his country.
“He’s big, good in the air and quick. He’s got all the assets to be a top player. He’s still learning the game because don’t forget he was a goalkeeper until his late teens, I think.”