Another season of high achievement for St Johnstone will bring another summer of scepticism that the Perth club can’t keep punching above their weight.
But midfielder Murray Davidson insisted that the Saints success story has still got plenty more pages left in it.
“We’ve been in this position for the last three or four years,” the former Livingston man said. “It’s the ‘where do you go now’ question.
“We don’t know yet what the full league will shape up like but we knew Rangers would come back at some point.
“I think it’s a good thing to get them back in the league. It will certainly make it tougher because they will be expected to be up there challenging
“But like I’ve always said we can only focus on ourselves. We’ve shown again this year that we can be successful.
“And we’ll be looking to do that again next season.”
Saints’ ability to cope with the loss of big name players in recent years is perhaps their strongest quality.
The last of those star men to leave was Michael O’Halloran, midway through the 2015/16 campaign.
There was a period of adjustment, but Saints came out the other side just as strong as they were with the now Rangers forward in their ranks.
“Mikey had a great start to the season,” Davidson said. “But we’ve been in the position before when players leave – Stevie May and Fran Sandaza both scored a lot of goals for us.
“Everyone in the dressing room wished Mikey well. There were a few jokes when it was ongoing but we wished him all the best and that was genuine.
“You need to adapt with how you play. Mikey was probably the one player in the team who had the raw pace to get you up the park.
“He was a massive influence but, as you can see, we’ve done OK without him.
“We brought in Danny Swanson as a wide player but he’s a bit different. He’s not as quick but brings his strengths.
“We finished fourth and went post-split unbeaten so we’ve obviously adapted pretty well.
“It doesn’t matter what level you are at whether it’s Barcelona or St Johnstone. If you lose players you need to adapt.
“And I feel we’ve always done that. You can’t sit and think ‘what are we going to do?’”
Davidson agreed a new two-year contract and is one of a group of players successive teams have been built around.
“It’s been pretty laid back because I still had a year left on my contract,” he said. “There was no rush.
“But it’s always good to get it done early because you can relax over the summer and have a nice break.
“I’m sitting on seven seasons with the club so it’s fairly flying in. It’s crazy where it all goes.
“Seven years at one club is quite a rare thing in football these days. And I’ve got a couple more to follow.
“Ando had his testimonial, Dave Mackay is on the same time as me, Chris Millar has been here a while and Liam Craig too.
“Personally I think that’s part of the reason why we’ve been so successful. We’ve always had a consistent base to the squad.
“Every football club has a turnover of players in the summer. But since I’ve been here I think there’s been a maximum of five or six coming in.
“That’s a help because there are a core of players in the dressing room who know what is expected. And it makes it easier for new players settling in.”
* Saints will face a Glentoran side bossed by their former defender Alan Kernaghan in pre-season. Manager Tommy Wright will take his squad to a Northern Ireland training camp and meet the Belfast outfit on July 9 at their Oval ground.
