”Can we call a halt to the season here and now?”
St Johnstone manager Steve Lomas may have been joking when he made that comment but most supporters of the Perth club would be over the moon if the SPL’s pecking order was to remain unchanged come the end of the season.
High-flying Saints sit second in the table, tucked in just three points behind champions Celtic, and will head north to Inverness on Saturday in search of what would be a club record sixth successive win in the top flight.
Prior to Saturday’s success over Kilmarnock, no Saints team had managed five wins on the trot since Willie Ormond’s side achieved the feat in 1971.
However, goals from Murray Davidson and Nigel Hasselbaink ensured the current crop of players became just the fourth squad in the club’s history to clock up a fab five sequence in Scotland’s top division.
That run has seen Saints rise to second spot and it has left Lomas delighted, although the Northern Irishman firmly believes his side could and perhaps should have been top of the pile.
”I genuinely believe we should be sitting here with three or four more points when I look back at games against Motherwell and Hibs before we went on this run,” he explained.
”But before the Killie game, I told the players that they shouldn’t underestimate what it means to have the chance to clock-up five successive SPL wins.”
Following the win at home to Kilmarnock, Lomas’ focus has shifted to Saturday’s trip to Inverness and the chance to make history.
”It would be nice to go to Inverness and top the record from 1971, but it’s never easy up there,” he said.
”The boys will be under no illusions how hard it will be, but the Killie game was much better than in the home games against St Mirren and Celtic.
”We were bang on the money and went after them.
”It should have been more comfortable and, if I was nit-picking, the chances we wasted could have come back to haunt us, but we deserved the points and confidence is a massive part of football.
”You play with more freedom with a win or two under your belt.”
On the injury front, Gary Miller and Chris Millar should be fit to face Caley, while the brief appearance of Kevin Moon also provided Saints with a boost.
Peter Pawlett and Paddy Cregg could also be in contention for a place, while Callum Davidson, Jamie Adams, David McCracken, Craig Beattie and Steven MacLean are all expected to remain sidelined through injury.