St Johnstone fans are clinging onto the hope that they may see their team compete in the play-offs to preserve the club’s Premiership status.
It’s a long shot and their relegation to the Championship will be confirmed on Saturday if Ross County follow Kilmarnock’s lead and win at McDiarmid Park.
By the point County, Dundee or, let’s be optimistic, Saints enter the play-offs, there will have already been much drama and excitement north and south of the border.
Courier Sport explores Perth connections supporters might want to keep an eye on.
EFL Championship
Which club wins the third golden ticket to the Premier League doesn’t hold any ex-St Johnstone interest but it’s a different story a tier below.
Three of the clubs involved in the Championship play-offs feature players who have spent time at McDiarmid on loan in recent years.
The most popular of the trio was Alex Mitchell.
Having played 29 games for Saints in the 2022/23 season, he returned to Millwall and got more loan game-time at Leyton Orient.
Charlton bought him in the summer and Mitchell was initially a regular under Nathan Jones.
He dropped out of the first XI over the winter but, after not starting since the end of January, returned to the team on the final day of the season, scoring in a 3-1 win over Burton Albion.
Charlton travel to Wycombe for the first leg of a play-off semi-final on Sunday, with the return game scheduled for the following Thursday night at the Valley.
The other semi is Leyton Orient against Stockport County.
The former feature DJ Jaiyesimi, who was signed on loan by Steven MacLean but was hampered by injuries in his season in Scotland.
And one of Stockport’s stars is Isaac Olaofe.
‘Tanto’ only got 41 minutes of St Johnstone game-time at the start of the cup double season before returning to Millwall two months into the Covid campaign.
After joining Stockport, Olaofe scored 21 goals in a League Two promotion season, and he’s already hit the target 12 times in League One.
Scottish Premiership
Stevie May and Ryan McGowan fly the flag for ex-Saints at Livingston, while Partick Thistle player/manager, Brian Graham, was a prolific striker in his one season at McDiarmid under Tommy Wright.
At Ayr, Connor McLennan and Jamie Murphy are still featuring.
Saints would gladly take on one of the three clubs over two legs later this month.
Valakari will no doubt keep a close eye on those games anyway, with a view to summer recruitment and getting a better understanding of what he’s likely to be up against in the Championship next season.
Scottish Championship
Stenhousemuir have three ex-Saints in their squad – scorer of wonder goals at Ibrox, Blair Alston; scorer of a League Cup winner against them two years ago, Euan O’Reilly; and another McDiarmid youth academy product, Matthew Aitken.
Stenny will have a tough task getting beyond their semi-final against an Airdrie side that has found some form.
The most significant new story in these play-offs, though, will be the performances of Liam Parker.
The 20-year-old centre-back missed three months of his season-long loan with Cove Rangers through injury but has been back in Paul Hartley’s team since February.
In his last appearance for Saints, Parker did well in difficult circumstances as a second half substitute against Alloa.
And, had he been available to Valakari, he would have been a contender to play in the Premiership run-in given the injury crisis at centre-back.
By starring in the play-offs, Parker, who is tall and left-footed, can further his cause to be offered a new contract with Saints and follow Taylor Steven’s lead in catching Valakari’s eye.
Cove will battle Queen of the South (away first on Tuesday) for the right to take on Airdrie or Stenhousemuir.
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