Steven MacLean was Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone side-kick for the best part of three seasons.
And he remains fiercely loyal to the former Perth boss.
But the new interim manager is very much his own man.
And the team selection and tactics for Saturday’s Premiership clash with Hibs will show it.
MacLean said: “People might say ‘what is going to change’?
“But everybody has their own ideas. I have my own ideas and methods.
“I’m not going to reinvent the wheel.
“But I’m big on fundamentals. Work rate, effort and energy are non-negotiables for me.
“Have the players slipped? I don’t know. Sometimes it is small, finer details in games.
“We always talk about doing the simple things well and you need to earn the right to win a game.
“It is not just about styles and playing through the lines. Sometimes it is just about work-rate and energy.”
MacLean has played on some poor McDiarmd Park pitches down the years and now his Saints team have to find a way to thrive on it this weekend and in two or three fixtures after the league split.
“Listen, it’s not been great,” he said. “But you know what? There are no excuses.
“You can’t control the pitch.
“You can control your own performance and how you prepare, how you go about things and that’s what the players need to do.
“Let’s have a go and enjoy ourselves. You enjoy football by winning and that’s what we want to do.”
Goals will come
One goal in five goals is a wretched recent record for Saints and putting that right will be a major pillar of a survival mission.
“It’s a collective,” said MacLean. “The goals will come.
“We’ve worked on a few things and hopefully we can put them in place this weekend.
“Hopefully we can go and win the game, be nice and positive and be on the front foot.”
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