St Johnstone’s last trip to Kilmarnock was a significant occasion for David Wotherspoon.
After nearly a year out following knee surgery, the Perth club’s only three-time cup final starter was back in a match-day squad.
Though he didn’t get on the pitch that night, it was the beginning of successful mission to be selected for Canada’s World Cup squad a month later.
As Saints prepare for a Rugby Park return, Wotherspoon is currently on a seven-game run as a non-starter and will be out-of-contract in the summer.
Courier Sport examines the short-term and long-term outlook for arguably the greatest ever St Johnstone player.
Climbing the mountain
Wotherspoon’s 11-month lay-off was the longest of his career.
And the prospect of getting back in time to be picked for Qatar was both the ultimate incentive and the ultimate weight on a footballer’s shoulders.
Callum Davidson (with the help of an understanding national coach, John Herdman) planned Wotherspoon’s schedule perfectly.
He didn’t rush the former Scotland under-21 international back, building up fitness on the training ground and in bounce games before drip-feeding him into the first team with three appearances off the bench.
It wasn’t until November 7 that Davidson put Wotherspoon on from the start.
The fact it was the most high profile fixture of the games before Herdman announced his squad (Rangers, live on Sky Sports) proved to be to his benefit after he played a significant part in a famous Saints victory.
By that point, Herdman had seen enough and Spoony had his golden ticket.
Moroccan high
Hard work and dedication – on the comeback trail and over the course of two decades involved in elite football – paid off spectacularly.
Not only was Wotherspoon the second St Johnstone player to be picked for a World Cup squad, he would go on to become the first to actually play in one.
Herdman sent him on for the last 15 minutes of Canada’s third and final group game against Morocco and the Spoony Chop had its grandest stage – and most illustrious victim in PSG full-back, Achraf Hakimi.
The Spoony chop on the world stage.
Sending Hakimi to the shops. pic.twitter.com/zEQCEGRQom
— A View from the Terrace (@TheTerraceTV) December 1, 2022
The other side of the World Cup mountain
If the Wotherspoon fairytale had continued, he’d have returned to the Saints team, sprinkling star dust on Premiership pitches across the country and been integral to Davidson’s side picking up where they left off before the World Cup break, establishing themselves in the top six and maybe even pushing to qualify for Europe.
None of those things have happened.
Saints’ form collapsed after one win against Ross County, Wotherspoon fell out of the team and the subsequent steadying of the ship has occurred with a very limited contribution off the bench from the fans’ favourite.
There have been two starts, no completed matches, seven substitute appearances and three games when he didn’t get on at all.
Change of system and change of game
Wotherspoon’s most effective position in a Callum Davidson team has predominantly been as the wide left player in a forward three, cutting inside, doing his thing and generally being Saints’ most creative, big-game player.
The side he came back into had been adapted to accommodate a front-two of Nicky Clark and Stevie May, with one side of a central midfield partnership or a number 10 role behind the attackers his best bets.
The StatsBomb positional maps for 2021/22 and 2022/23 capture that positional change perfectly.
The Wotherspoon individual radar has also altered – significantly – from one season to the next.
Successful dribbles have actually gone up but turnovers and interceptions have fallen away.
The new-look midfield
Nobody left out of Davidson’s starting line-up in the wake of the first half debacle against Livingston in mid-January could have any complaints.
Collective standards had dropped and the chief priority was getting dynamism into a midfield that was far too easy to run and pass through.
That Cammy MacPherson and Dan Phillips seized their opportunity is inarguable.
Neither has had a poor game since.
It has been a transformational combination for Saints.
Also, Melker Hallberg has quietly reasserted his status in the further forward midfield/ number 10 slot.
With Phillips suspended at Tynecastle, Davidson preferring Graham Carey as the Trinidad and Tobago international’s replacement was far more contentious in the fanbase.
Whether the double-winning talisman is more capable than the Irishman to produce assists and goals that will fire-up a top six bid in need of a creative spark won’t be known until that long sequence of late cameos is broken and Wotherspoon is on from the first whistle.
I would expect him to get that starting chance soon.
Another deal or a Perth farewell?
Davidson has put on record he wants Wotherspoon, out of contract in a couple of months, to stay at McDiarmid Park for a 10th season.
And the man himself has all but confirmed he also hopes to remain at his home town club.
With a new deal, Wotherspoon would be getting into testimonial territory.
Plenty of managers and players have spoken in similar fashion down the years, masking the reality of a situation that is far less certain.
But, in this case, there’s no need for a pinch of salt.
As with Stevie May, whose own extension was finalised in January, there’s a desire on both sides to write another St Johnstone chapter.
The hope is that talks will become more substantive if – hopefully, when – Saints’ Premiership status is secured.
Beating Kilmarnock on Saturday would effectively tick that box.
The Perth career of another club legend, Murray Davidson, feels like it’s about to come to a natural end.
Wotherspoon’s is different.
With a reset for the team in the summer, a player whose main assets (not pace or energy-related) and desire are undiminished will have at least a couple of years of top flight football left in him.
Unless Wotherspoon has a change of heart and decides he needs a fresh challenge – in Canada, for example – it wouldn’t sit right if the Spoony swansong took place anywhere other than McDiarmid Park.
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