David Wotherspoon and Shaun Rooney are St Johnstone legends.
And, as Liam Craig pointed out, their Europa Conference League red cards won’t change that.
The veteran Perth midfielder is already focused on making sure the good times keep coming at McDiarmid Park.
And Hampden cup double heroes Wotherspoon and Rooney, both sent off in Thursday night’s European campaign-ending defeat to LASK, will have key roles to play again.
“David and Shaun are old enough, experienced enough and honest enough,” said Craig.
“They are two reasons why we are here in the first place.
“What they have done for the club – David over a long period of time and Shaun over a shorter time – and the success they’ve had, is fantastic.
“They are huge characters in the dressing room and if we are to have a good season they will play a massive part.”
WATCH: David Wotherspoon sees red just minutes after being introduced!
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— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) August 26, 2021
Craig made no attempt to hide the fact that qualifying for Europe again is the aim.
“We want to learn from those moments, get back on this stage and there’s definitely enough quality in that dressing room to have another successful season,” he said.
“We have to use the disappointment as fuel to go again.
“We’ve not started the league as well as we’d have hoped so now that’s the focus.
“We didn’t have a great start to the season last year but that worked out not too bad. That’s the levels we want to get back to – so we can have more nights like Thursday.
“We want to put on performances to make the supporters come back. They have been excellent. At the end they showed how much this team means to them.
“We have to find the to give us the opportunity to do this. Top players do it season in and season out.
“Teams I have played in over the years have shown a consistency level to keep us where we are.
“It’s important this group of players does that now and builds on this. Some players might move on but the good thing is we’ve always had a great dressing room.
“Moving forward it’s going to take that, take the full squad to buy into what we’re about, to get back to nights like Thursday.”
Get the fans back
Craig added: “Our supporters are a loyal group. They have backed us even in difficult times.
VIDEO: St Johnstone fans still ‘immensely proud’ of team as European dream ends https://t.co/XirQuSRsdj pic.twitter.com/7F0rIDsXzz
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) August 27, 2021
“But as players if you come out and three or four stands are full it does give you extra energy to go and do well.
“Hopefully they can see what the team is about and what we are trying to do and they want to be involved in the success as well.
“They missed out on a lot last year and it’s up to us as players now to put performances on the park to make sure they keep coming back.”
