St Johnstone’s Danny Grainger is keeping his fingers crossed that he wins the nod from manager Derek McInnes today so he can pull on a Saints jersey one last time.
St Johnstone will be without the injured Collin Samuel, Jody Morris, Graham Gartland and Sam Parkin in Paisley but McInnes hopes Kevin Moon will have recovered from a tight hamstring to feature.
St Mirren go into today’s game with the same squad that secured their SPL place with a midweek win over Aberdeen but captain John Potter and striker Craig Dargo were among 11 players yesterday told they had no future at the club.
Potter, Dargo and Garry Brady are the three longest-serving players to be leaving the club.
Gareth Wardlaw is also on the list despite netting the goal that won the game at Pittodrie.
As well as Wardlaw, manager Danny Lennon has released four more of his signings Patrick Cregg, Sean Lynch, Nick Hegarty and Jamie McCluskey.
Kyle Faulds, Mark McLennan and Ally Love have also been released but all the other players whose contracts are due to expire have been offered new deals. They include Hugh Murray, who is out for several months with a knee injury.
Manager Danny Lennon said, “It’s difficult and I don’t enjoy these days at all.”
However, the former Cowdenbeath boss is excited about the prospect of shaping his own squad despite bringing in a full team of players over the course of his first year in charge.
Grainger’s contract runs out soon and he has intimated to the club that he intends to move on in the hope of winning a return to his Cumbrian roots at Carlisle United.
The former Gretna and Dundee United full-back has missed Saints’ last two league victories over Hamilton and Aberdeen with a groin strain.
However, having recovered, he hopes McInnes includes him in his starting line-up against St Mirren this afternoon so he can bid an emotional farewell to a club he believes he owes a big debt of gratitude to.
“I was back training with the youth side on Thursday and the injury felt good so hopefully the manager will decide I can come back into contention for the game against St Mirren,” said the 24-year-old.With Grainger set to leave, St Johnstone have been linked with a possible move for Queen of the South’s highly-rated left-back Bob Harris.”There is a possibility that will be my last match for the club. I am out of contract and have told the gaffer I would like a fresh challenge, with England being my main target.
“There has been a lot of speculation about myself and Carlisle but I have had no contact from them so far so I will just have to play it by ear this summer and see what happens.
“It is probably right for me and my family, especially as my wife is pregnant. I am not going to rush into anything, though.
“I am looking for a bit of stability by trying to get a two or three-year contract somewhere as I do not want to be moving every season.’Not as many chances'”It is not nice playing the waiting game but it is part and parcel of the job title these days as there are not as many chances now as there were three or four years ago.
“Teams were more prepared to take a chance but they do not do that at the moment.
“So, I would love to play on Saturday but the boys have done well in the last two games when I have not been in the team so we’ll just have to see what the manager decides. No matter what happens, it will still be an emotional day.
“I owe the gaffer and Doc (assistant boss Tony Docherty) a lot as they took me from Dundee United when I was not getting a game there and gave me the chance of regular first-team football here.
“I would like to think I have only let them down in just a couple of games and generally done a good job for St Johnstone.
“Everyone at the club has been fantastic to me and I have a great bunch of mates here, like Murray Davidson, Graham Gartland, Liam Craig to name but a few.”
While Grainger looks certain to be heading for the McDiarmid Park exit, McInnes has decided to stay at the club after turning down the opportunity to take the reins at English League One outfit Brentford.
The highly-rated young boss revealed on Wednesday that, after discussions with the Bees, he had opted to remain in Perth-and Grainger believes McInnes can now take Saints on to bigger and better things.
“There is always going to be speculation about the gaffer as he has done a fantastic job here,” he added.
“He has taken the club to semi-finals of the cups, won them promotion and then secured two eighth positions in the SPL in two years, which is a massive feat for a club the size of St Johnstone.
“It speaks volumes for the gaffer and Doc. So, the lads are delighted he is staying. Hopefully, Saints can now push on and bring a few boys in during the summer.
“I know the gaffer and I am sure he will want to do better than eighth position next season.”
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