There aren’t many of St Johnstone’s Scottish Cup-winning side left at McDiarmid Park these days.
And one of the post-2014 majority is hoping that the 2018 team can make a new piece of history for the club.
Summer signing Drey Wright helped Saints into the last eight of the Betfred Cup with an extra-time win against Queen of the South, and he is relishing the opportunity of being two games away from a Hampden final.
The winger, who scored the second of the four goals on Saturday, said: “The boys were all saying before the game that there was a quarter-final at stake and that was enough incentive to go out and try and get the win.
“It’s exciting for me because playing in the English lower leagues, you don’t get much of a chance to go on a good cup run.
“But now we are in a quarter-final and hopefully we can go on an achieve something.
“Each team wants to create their own little bit of history and obviously the boys that won the cup in 2014 have gone down as legends at the club.
“And I am sure that the few who are still here will be just as determined to go and achieve something like that again.”
This turned out to be one of those ‘job done’ cup afternoons.
Saints were far from their best, particularly in the first half when Lyndon Dykes cancelled out Tony Watt’s opener to give the hosts a deserved equaliser.
But, apart from a spell when the sides traded shots off the woodwork deep into the second half, you always got the feeling that Tommy Wright’s men were the likelier winner.
Two goals in the first period of extra-time – from Wright and Watt – proved that hunch right, even though there was mild panic when Stephen Dobbie converted a penalty four minutes from time.
The last kick of the ball was Callum Hendry’s breakaway fourth.
Wright reflected: “Our intentions coming here was to get through to the quarter-finals and we have done that. They took us to extra-time, which was not how we wanted to do it, but we got the job done in the end.
“The teams in the lower leagues deserve more credit than they get because they do make it difficult.
“I hadn’t played a competitive game on an artificial pitch before I came to Scotland and you have to adapt to that style of play. It can be quite challenging and I found it difficult in the first half. But I grew into the game.”
Watt’s double reinforced the belief that Saints have pulled off a transfer coup to recruit the former Celtic and Hearts man.
Wright said: “Tony has done brilliantly and he set me up for my goal too. He scored two goals – they were definitely his today!
“He said when he came in that he needed somewhere to knuckle down and work hard. He’s got his doubters, but he doesn’t have to prove anybody wrong. He’s trying to get his head down and just enjoy his football and that’s what he is doing.
“I remember watching the game against Barcelona a few years ago and it was obviously a great moment for him.
“He’s not actually mentioned he once scored against Barcelona, but he’s certainly mentioned he’s scored against Hibs non-stop!”
Wright’s first-time strike was arguably the pick of the four Saints goals.
“It was great to score my first goal for the club,” he said.
“I had a couple of chances in the cup games, so I am just pleased to get off the mark.”
Manager Wright wasn’t happy with the first half display but felt the end result was the correct one.
He said: “Over 90 minutes we edged the game.
“Our fitness and quality told in extra-time but again we’ve started the second period of extra-time a bit sloppy. We gave them a lift and they get a goal back but we see out the game.”
Wright is encouraged by the early performances of his most high profile signing of the close-season.
“Tony came in to score goals and he is happy and working hard,” he said.
“He will get better with his match fitness because he hasn’t played a lot of football in 14 months.
“He would be nowhere near St Johnstone if he had taken a normal career path, but it is working well for him and for us.”
