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Improving St Johnstone must target winning run to transform season, says manager

Steven MacLean is hoping for continued progress from his win-hungry Saints side.

Steven MacLean.
Steven MacLean.

St Johnstone will face Motherwell on Saturday still in search of their first Premiership win.

But Perth boss Steven MacLean isn’t just targeting a solitary victory – he wants his side to embark on a run of them.

Saints have endured a tough start to the season, but recent performances have brought improvement.

Draws have been earned against Livingston and Aberdeen.

And while Motherwell will provide stiff opposition, McDiarmid Park manager MacLean is hopeful continued progress will see his team ignite their campaign.

St Johnstone's Max Kucheriavyi celebrates scoring to make it 2-2.
St Johnstone showed they have guts by coming back from 2-0 down against Dundee earlier in the season. Image: SNS.

“Motherwell started the season really well and even though they’ve lost four in a row now, their performances in three of them were very good,” he said.

“If you take the Livingston game out of it, I’m sure they were happy with the way they played against Celtic, Rangers and St Mirren.

“In the Livi game there was nothing in it but it changed after the red card, so there are mitigating circumstances there.

“So we know they’re a good side and they’ll come to us desperate to stop their bad run.

“For us, we need to go on one because if you can win a few games in the space of a few weeks in this league it shoots you right up the table.

St Johnstone felt aggrieved by decisions that went against them v Livingston, with captain Liam Gordon later seeing his red card rescinded. Image: SNS

“We’ve had a difficult start to the season for a variety of reasons but I think everyone who has watched us can see things are starting to come together.

“But we need to turn the draws we’ve had into wins.

“It’s still very tight down at the bottom end of the table so two or three victories can transform things for you.

“We have to be aiming to go on a run now and if we keep progressing the way we have in the last month or so then we can put ourselves on a much better trajectory.”

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