Ali Crawford relished celebrating St Johnstone’s win at Livingston with the jubilant Perth support.
Now he is determined to keep them on side by firing Saints up the Premiership table.
Crawford and his team-mates had to run a gauntlet of angry fans after the McDiarmid Park side’s Scottish Cup loss to Kelty Hearts.
But the Perth public have backed their side to the hilt in the weeks since.
Their heroes have claimed four points from their last six in return.
And Crawford, who notched the winner against Livi, wants to give fans plenty more to enjoy.
“They were brilliant (at Livingston)” he said.
“ It’s been difficult for them in the last few months and for us to give them that win shows that we are working hard for them and hopefully we can give them more to cheer about for the rest of the season and keep them on our side.”
Saints climbed off the bottom of the league on goal difference following Tuesday night’s victory.
For Crawford, that presents an opportunity.
“We all know where we are,” he said.
“There’s only one place we can go when we are in this position and that’s up the table.
“We are determined to fight. No one wants to be in the position we are in.
📹| Alternate angle
And here it is…the moment that sealed the 3 points and sent our travelling fans ballistic 🎉#SJFC pic.twitter.com/7EXWBtEzdi
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 2, 2022
“We showed that at Livingston and hopefully that’s the turning point for the season for us.”
Perth boss Callum Davidson made eight new signings in January.
Two started against Livi, with one, in John Mahon, appearing as a second half substitute.
They each played a big role in Saints’ first victory since October 30.
And Crawford reckons their arrival should come as a shot across the bows of players already at the club ahead of a crucial few months.
🆕🎤| SaintsTV spoke to Dan Cleary after he was heavily involved at both ends of the park last night.
Setup the first goal ✅
Involved in the 2nd ✅ #SJFC pic.twitter.com/ak4mXALf3v— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 2, 2022
He explained: “It’s a big squad we have now and you know if you are not pulling your weight, then someone is going to come in and take your place, so that’s all the motivation you need to retain it.
“We 100 per cent need to fight it out.
“We know it’s not going to be pretty at times and it was the same at Livingston because it’s a tough place to come.
“But I think if we keep doing what we are doing with good tactics and hard work, I think we will be all right.”
