This may have been a season of change for St Johnstone but Alan Mannus insists the core values that have been the basis for the team’s success in recent years remain the same.
Saints will move a big step closer to achieving their No.1 aim at the start of every campaign – Premiership safety – if they can beat Hamilton at McDiarmid tonight.
No matter what happens this evening, this will be the first time for several seasons that the club have finished outside the top six.
Keeper Mannus admits the team has been inconsistent but he insists the club will reap the benefits in the long term after a whole host of youngsters were blooded this term.
The Northern Irishman said: “It has been expected of us to be in the top six after the last six years.
“But the size of club we are, where we are at the moment is probably about right in terms of the pecking order.
“There are bigger clubs than us below us so although we are not happy to be where we are everything has to be kept in perspective.
“Although we say we want to be in the top six, our first aim at the start of every season is to make sure we are in the league the following year.
“The hope is we can go out and achieve that without being dragged into a relegation battle at the end of the season.
“Obviously that hasn’t been an issue for the last six years because we have been up in the top six.
“So we are focused on making sure it doesn’t happen this year.”
Mannus added: “I think it has been a transitional season for the club and we have brought through a lot of young players this year.
“Players are getting older and the younger ones are being asked to step up.
“We know we haven’t been good enough this season to get where we want to be, but there are still positives to take.
“You could play a team of young lads this year that the manager has been putting out.
“That is good for the club long-term because they are getting experience and will be at the club for years to come.
“Boys like Jason Kerr, Chris Kane, Liam Gordon, Kyle McClean and Aaron Comrie have all played this season and will only get better from here.
“So instead of having a squad where everyone is around the age of 30, we have been much younger and with that you sometimes get inconsistency.
“But even though we haven’t made the top six this time, I still think there are positives to take from this season so far.
“The younger ones are the future of the club and they have fitted in well.
“People who are not the right kind of character don’t last here. Anyone who has come in during my time at the club and been like that usually isn’t here for long.
“The team spirit we have had over the years is still there – the faces have changed a bit but it feels the same.”
Mannus’s contract is up at the end of the season but he insists he is just fully focused on making sure Saints are safe in the Premiership.
He said: “I am out of contract in the summer and am not sure what is going to happen.
“All I am focused on at the moment is staying in the team and trying to help the club stay in the Premiership for next season.
“There is still a bit of work to be done on that front so I won’t think about myself until then.
“If we can win this week it would be another step towards safety and that is our complete aim for the season.
“Hamilton are looking to do the same because they are just in behind us and have games in hand, so they will be looking up rather than behind them.”
