Chris Millar has admitted that a proper summer break is just what he needs.
This season has been a frustrating, stop-start affair for the St Johnstone midfielder, with more than the fingers of one hand needed to tot up the number of times he has broken down through injury.
Millar is again an doubt for this afternoon’s clash with Motherwell at Fir Park with a calf strain.
Had Celtic beaten Rangers in their Scottish Cup semi-final it could have been a Europa League-clinching game.
That European carrot isn’t there but Millar believes that having a longer close-season than they’ve been used to for the last four years will be a big consolation for the Saints players – particularly for him.
“We won’t have Europe this summer which is a disappointment but we should all benefit from a longer break,” Millar admitted.
“It has been a long season and at times frustrating for me with the injuries.
“For older guys in the squad the recovery time will be good and we can be ready to kick on again next season.”
The former Morton man added: “We have started with two good wins after the split. We genuinely want to finish in fourth place and that is spurring us on.
“Motherwell have been the form team and Mark McGhee has done a very good job there. But if we win it puts us in a good spot with just two games left. And we’d be guaranteed fifth at least.
“The gaffer has been on about having a strong finish and so have the lads themselves.
“Some have contracts to play for and we all want to finish on a high. And the wives might have an eye on the bonus money!
“It’s good to maintain momentum with half an eye on next season.”
Meanwhile, Millar is disappointed to see the Tayside derby with Dundee United fall off the Premiership fixture list for next season.
But he saw United’s demise coming.
“We will really miss United here,” Millar said. “The fans love a derby and as a player I have been involved in some great games with them. The 2014 cup final jumps out at you right away.
“As a player you want to play against teams that draw bigger crowds in the top league and there’s a real sense of rivalry about the games between the three Tayside teams.
“United are down now and they will be a loss. They are a club with such a great history and good fans standing by them. But that’s football.
“They are bottom of the league for a reason. They simply haven’t been good enough this year.
“Back at the start of the season I was asked about relegation candidates and I did mention United.
“I looked at their squad and after losing so many key players I did wonder if they would be able to cope.
“I felt they were a wee bit lightweight. Any time we played them we had bullied them. So I didn’t see them as a top six side and feared a bit for them.”
The warning for Saints and most of the other clubs in the top flight is an obvious one.
“What’s happened to United and other big clubs before them is a timely reminder we can’t take anything for granted here,” Millar pointed out.
“Do that and you could find yourself in the same boat.
“You have to be realistic and keep your feet firmly on the ground. But we have never been guilty of resting on our laurels and the manager makes sure of that.
“Back in January we weren’t winning games and it was touch and go whether we would make the top six.
“We’d dropped out of it and the middle section was getting really tight. We knew we had to start winning to get clear of the teams lower down.
“We turned it around and we are in the top six on merit.”
