Skipper Joe Shaughnessy is loving life as the elder statesman amid a new generation at St Johnstone.
The Irish defender reckons the future is bright in Perth as Tommy Wright carries out a quiet revolution, ably replacing the likes of Fraser Wright, Dave Mackay and Steven MacLean, who famously helped the club lift the Scottish Cup in 2014.
Shaughnessy now feels like an old head in a refreshed dressing room as promising prospects such as Jason Kerr, Scott Tanser and Zander Clark usher in a fresh age of optimism.
The Saints’ 1-0 win against Hibs on Saturday, sealed by Shaughnessy’s dramatic late header, secured a fourth successive victory, propelling them into fifth spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
“The manager has got a younger squad together over the summer and it seems like we could have a good future here with a really good core of lads,” said the former Aberdeen man.
“When I first came in, it was maybe coming to the end of a slightly older squad and, as it has turned out, I am probably now one of the more experienced ones in the dressing room.
“The manager has tried to freshen it up a bit and change the way we play.
“We have a brand new front three and we maybe look a bit more threatening going forward. I hope we continue to get what we deserve out of that.”
St Johnstone’s win should have been more comprehensive.
Tristan Nydam, 18, struck the crossbar with a stunning effort in the first half, while Danny Swanson saw a second-half penalty magnificently saved by Adam Bogdan.
Hibs were restricted to speculative long-range efforts from Martin Boyle, Stevie Mallan and Emerson Hyndman as their 11-month unbeaten run at Easter Road ended.
Assistant head coach Garry Parker insists the tumultuous events of last week’s Edinburgh derby were not to blame and has demanded a response against Aberdeen on Friday night.
He said: “You can’t blame midweek, they played midweek too. That’s no excuse and not having (suspended striker) Flo Kamberi is no excuse either, we’ve got to be able to do it without him.
“We picked a team that we thought could go out there and create and we didn’t get anything.
“We’ve got a big game now at Aberdeen and we need to pick ourselves up and go again.”
