When the St Johnstone team takes the field against Dundee United on Saturday a statistical streak that goes back over 40 years will continue – as long as Lewis Neilson or Nicky Clark get game time.
In every one of the fixtures between the two sides, played at Tannadice, since 1983, the visiting side has featured at least one former United player.
It is an ongoing run unparalleled in the Perth club’s history and Saturday’s game will be the 42nd match in a row in this sequence.
The number of ex-United players to feature for Saints currently stands at 26, with Neilson, on loan from Hearts, set to make it 27.
United academy player and Saints legend, Steven Anderson, shares the highest number of appearances with another player who was awarded a testimonial at McDiarmid Park, Alan Main.
They both played nine times against the Tangerines at Tannadice.
Harry Curran, Gary McGinnis and John O’Neil are the only other three to have played more than five times.
The most ex-United men to play for Saints in one game is four, which has happened on three different occasions.
And the players with whom the runs starts are Derek Addison and George Fleming, who played in a 3-0 victory for United in the League Cup group stage of the 1982/83 competition.
Incredibly, the last match at Tannadice when there were no former United men was played in March, 1976.
That Premier Division game was drawn 1-1.
Ironically, there were two ex-Saints (Henry Hall and Alex Rennie) and three future Saints (Fleming, Graeme Payne and Paul Hegarty) in tangerine and black that night.
To illustrate the statistical oddity, you just need to look at the games played in Perth.
The current run sits at zero, as the last time the sides played each other at McDiarmid Park, there were no United old boys in the Saints starting line-up or on the bench!
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