TOMMY PRAISES PLAYERS' TOP SIX FINISH

Tommy Wright has heaped praise on his players for their achievement in finishing in the SPFL Premiership’s top six for a fifth successive season.

Despite last Saturday’s defeat at Kilmarnock and patchy form in recent weeks, the points gained in recent matches – including a stunning 3-0 win at Tynecastle – saw Saints make the top six with a two point gap over Dundee and Partick Thistle.

Great form in the autumn and early winter saw Saints win nine and draw one of thirteen league games including five successive away victories triggered by the 5-1 demolition of Aberdeen at Pittodrie and that form was the platform on which the successful push for a top half finish was built.

Reflecting on the achievement – the best run of top league finishes in the club’s history – Tommy says: “With four successive European campaigns many of the players have had very little recovery time. Great demands have been placed on perhaps 60 or 70 percent of the squad over five years with little recovery time.

“I fully understand that people think footballers don’t do a ‘proper’ days’ work but the bottom line is that it is tough being a professional athlete and the stresses and strains that puts on the body. Over the piece the demands made on many of my players over recent years is up there with the likes of Celtic.”.

Tommy has no doubts that his side deserve the top six finish which now sees them pit their wits against Aberdeen (H), Ross County (A), Motherwell (A), Celtic (H) and Hearts (A) in the battle for final places:

“At the start of any season, our first target is to remain in the league. Our second target is to get into the top six and we achieved that on Saturday. For that, I am so proud of the players and staff. They’ve dealt with everything that’s been thrown at them on the pitch, they’ve dealt with the injuries which have badly hit us throughout the season and have still done it.

“We have done this not by help from others or through luck or ‘by the back door’. We’ve done it because we are the fifth best team after 33 games of the season. Having now achieved this five seasons in a row I can honestly say that every season that the players manage it I take even more pleasure because it is getting harder and harder to do.

“Every season is full of ifs and buts but that’s the beauty of football and over the past five seasons I think we could have done better in each of them - that is us striving to be the very best. So, yes, we may have done better in recent weeks but it is still job accomplished, top six achieved and the possibility of European competition again and I thank the Chairman and Board for their continued backing.”