St Johnstone striker Chris Kane has spent a decade-and-a-half at McDiarmid Park.
And he doesn’t want to leave anytime soon.
The midweek match-winning hero against St Mirren will be out of contract in January, having signed a six-month deal in the summer as he sought to prove his form and fitness in the wake of a long injury battle.
Now, after scoring his first goal of the season, Kane is hopeful that another contract will be offered and agreed.
“My focus is staying fit and playing games, then I’m sure that stuff will take care of itself,” he said.
“As long as I’m playing, I’m happy because I’ve had such a bad time over the past two years.
“Hopefully I don’t get any more injuries and, the more I play, I can crack on.
“I’ve been at the club since I was 15 years old. I’m 29 now. I don’t really know anything else.
“It was 10 years since my debut recently.
“I was getting messages saying: ‘How have you lasted 10 years?’
“The manager has told me to stay fit. That’s the main thing.
“If St Johnstone want to give me another contract, I would be delighted.”
Chris Kane tried to replicate last penalty
Kane’s previous goal was scored in a dead rubber at the end of last season when he converted a late spot-kick against Livingston.
The stakes were considerably higher six minutes into injury-time on Wednesday night, though.
“I tried to replicate my last penalty,” said Kane.
“I’m not sure if I’ve mishit it or just not got the height I wanted.
“But luckily I’ve managed to get on the end of the rebound to score.
“I normally score my penalties in training. So you don’t practice rebounds!
“I’m just glad I managed to keep my feet because I was slipping as well.
💪 St Johnstone moved four points clear of bottom spot as they beat St Mirren with a dramatic 96th-minute winner ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/IuQ8jkaLWq
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 7, 2023
“It all just happened so quickly. The goalkeeper even got a hand to the rebound.
“But the ball ended up in the back of the net, which is all that matters.”
Kane added: “I went for the ball straight away and Dan (Phillips) gave me it.
“I thought Graham (Carey) would come and ask for it but, fair play to him, he let me take it.
“He’s claiming it as a miss though so I’m sure he’ll want the next one! We’ll see how that goes.”
Ninth in sight for St Johnstone
The goal and win lifted Saints into 10th in the table, giving them an incentive of moving a place higher if they beat Motherwell on Saturday.
“It was a massive game for us and a massive win,” said Kane.
“The boys were all buzzing.
“St Mirren are a good side but we know we can go up against anyone.
“We’re playing better now, creating more chances and being more positive.
“We had loads of the ball too, which is something we maybe don’t normally have.
“The boys were brilliant from start to finish and went right until the end.
“Getting that goal could be massive for our season.
“It’s a tight league and always will be.
“Motherwell will be looking to pull away from us and will see it as a massive game too.
“We’ll go with a game-plan and look to win the game.”
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