# 2021–22 St Johnstone F.C. season

The 2021–22 season was St Johnstone's ninth season in the Scottish Premiership and their 13th consecutive season (following four in the former Scottish Premier League) in the top flight of Scottish football. The club also competed in the Scottish Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Europa League, having won both domestic cups the previous season.
Under the continued management of Callum Davidson, St Johnstone were confident of building upon the previous season's success but the departures of some key players left the team in transition and results through the autumn of 2021 were poor. Avoiding relegation became the priority and Saints were ultimately successful in that, although they finished eleventh (out of twelve) and had to overcome the challenge of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the two-leg Premiership playoff. There were hopes that the team might retain the League Cup as they reached the semi-final but they went down by a single goal to eventual winners Celtic. Saints fared less well in the Scottish Cup, losing on their first appearance to League Two club Kelty Hearts.
In Europe, Saints played in the UEFA Europa League against Galatasaray and the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League against Linzer ASK. They played well away from home to gain draws in the first legs of both these matches, only to be well beaten at home in the second leg.

## Season summary

Still managed by Callum Davidson, St Johnstone hoped to build upon their double success in the 2020–21 domestic cup competitions. The team underwent some changes, however, particularly the departures of Jason Kerr and Ali McCann in August 2021. In the league, the team struggled to avoid relegation and eventually finished eleventh, six points adrift of Aberdeen in tenth place but six points clear of bottom club Dundee, who were automatically relegated.
By finishing eleventh, St Johnstone had to take part in the Premiership playoff where they met Inverness CT over two legs (home and away). The first leg was played at Caley Thistle's Caledonian Stadium on 20 May and ended in a 2–2 draw after Saints had led 2–0 at half-time. In the home leg at McDiarmid Park three days later, Saints were clear winners by 4–0, the team's biggest victory of the whole season. They thus won the playoff with a 6–2 aggregate to retain Premiership status in the 2022–23 season.
Hoping to repeat their domestic cup successes of the previous season, Saints reached the semi-final of the League Cup with victories over Arbroath and Dundee. They met Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden Park on 20 November and lost 1–0 to the eventual tournament winners. The defeat by Celtic ended an 11-game unbeaten run by Saints in domestic cup football. Saints entered the Scottish Cup in the fourth round with an away tie at League Two club Kelty Hearts, who had been newly promoted to the SPFL that season. The match was played at New Central Park on 22 January before a full house of 2,183. Having been goalless at full time, the match went into extra time and Kelty achieved a surprise victory over the cupholders with a goal in the 103rd minute.
St Johnstone's domestic cup wins in 2020–21 qualified the team for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League. They joined the competition in the third qualifying round with a two-legged tie against Galatasaray. The first leg was played in Istanbul on 5 August. Saints took the lead after 58 minutes with a penalty goal by Jason Kerr, who left the club soon afterwards. Two minutes later, Sacha Boey equalised for Galatasaray and the match ended 1–1. The second leg was played in Perth on 12 August and attracted a crowd of 9,106, the highest attendance of the season at McDiarmid Park. Saints played well with a hard-fought performance but were overcome by three second half goals which consigned them to a 4–2 defeat (5–3 aggregate). The defeat meant Saints could enter the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League which they joined in the playoff round with a tie against Austria's Linzer ASK (aka LASK). The matches were on 19 and 26 August. In the first leg at the Wörthersee Stadion, Saints drew 1–1 after taking a 17th minute lead with a goal by Chris Kane. As with Galatasaray, however, the home leg ended in defeat. Both David Wotherspoon and Shaun Rooney were sent off. Linz scored twice in the last twenty minutes to win 2–0 and take the tie 3–1 on aggregate.
Following the Premiership playoff victory over Caley Thistle which ended the season, Callum Davidson commented that Saints "have a lot of work to do" to compete with the best in 2022–23 and "need to make sure we're up competing just to stay in the league". He pointed out that many of the rival clubs "are spending money", including newly promoted Kilmarnock.

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

### UEFA Europa Conference League
#### Play-off round
## Squad statistics
### Appearances

    As of 23 May 2022
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premiership | Premiership | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europa League | Europa League | Conference League | Conference League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Zander Clark | 42 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | MLT | James Brown | 30 | 0 | 18+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Tony Gallacher | 10 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | SCO | Jamie McCart | 46 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Dan Cleary | 18 | 0 | 17+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Liam Gordon | 38 | 0 | 32+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | SCO | Stevie May | 40 | 3 | 13+20 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Murray Davidson | 30 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Chris Kane | 24 | 4 | 12+5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | CAN | David Wotherspoon | 14 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | SCO | Michael O'Halloran | 28 | 2 | 13+7 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Elliot Parish | 8 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | SCO | Craig Bryson | 10 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | SCO | Glenn Middleton | 35 | 2 | 18+12 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | SCO | Charlie Gilmour | 9 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | IRL | John Mahon | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | CAN | Theo Bair | 7 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Cammy MacPherson | 22 | 1 | 13+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | SCO | Shaun Rooney | 32 | 4 | 24+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | SCO | Ross Sinclair | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | SCO | Ali Crawford | 32 | 3 | 24+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | SCO | Callum Hendry | 26 | 9 | 20+1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | TUR | Nadir Çiftçi | 12 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | SCO | Callum Booth | 34 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | SCO | Liam Craig | 22 | 0 | 9+7 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Tom Sang | 9 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | SWE | Melker Hallberg | 16 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Jahmal Hector-Ingram | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Jacob Butterfield | 18 | 2 | 11+7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Departures ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | Reece Devine | 10 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Jason Kerr | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BEL | Lars Dendoncker | 6 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Hayden Muller | 8 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | FIN | Eetu Vertainen | 8 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | NIR | Ali McCann | 10 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | SCO | Cammy Ballantyne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | NGA | Efe Ambrose | 8 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | NGA | Viv Solomon-Otabor | 7 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

## Team statistics
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | Hibernian | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 45 | |
| 9 | St Mirren | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 44 | |
| 10 | Aberdeen | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 41 | |
| 11 | St Johnstone (O) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 51 | −27 | 35 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
| 12 | Dundee (R) | 38 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 34 | 64 | −30 | 29 | Relegation to Championship |
* ↑ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | D | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | D | W | L | L | D | W | W | L | D | L | D | W | L |
| Position | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |

### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premiership | 31 July 2021 | 15 May 2022 | Matchday 1 | 11th | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 51 | −27 | 021.05 |
| League Cup | 15 August 2021 | 20 November 2021 | Second round | Semi-finals | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 033.33 |
| Scottish Cup | 22 January 2022 | 22 January 2022 | Fourth round | Fourth round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 5 August 2021 | 12 August 2021 | Third qualifying round | Third qualifying round | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 19 August 2021 | 26 August 2021 | Play-off round | Play-off round | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 32 | 61 | −29 | 019.57 |
Last updated: 15 May 2022 Source: Soccerway

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Transferred from | Fee |
| 30 June 2021 | Hayden Muller | Millwall | Loan |
| 1 July 2021 | James Brown | Millwall | Free |
| 2 July 2021 | Reece Devine | Manchester United | Loan |
| 6 August 2021 | Glenn Middleton | Rangers | Loan |
| 31 August 2021 | Ali Crawford | Bolton Wanderers | Loan |
| 31 August 2021 | Lars Dendoncker | Brighton & Hove Albion | Loan |
| 31 August 2021 | Cammy MacPherson | St Mirren | Loan |
| 1 September 2021 | Eetu Vertainen | Ilves | Free |
| 10 September 2021 | Efe Ambrose | Livingston | Free |
| 24 November 2021 | Viv Solomon-Otabor | Unattached | Free |
| 13 December 2021 | Jacob Butterfield | Unattached | Free |
| 1 January 2022 | Dan Cleary | Dundalk | Free |
| 3 January 2021 | Ali Crawford | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 4 January 2022 | Tony Gallacher | Liverpool | Free |
| 5 January 2022 | Nadir Çiftçi | Ankaragücü | Free |
| 23 January 2022 | John Mahon | Sligo Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 24 January 2022 | Cammy MacPherson | St Mirren | Undisclosed |
| 24 January 2022 | Melker Hallberg | Hibernian | Free |
| 31 January 2022 | Theo Bair | Vancouver Whitecaps | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2022 | Tom Sang | Cardiff City | Loan |
| 1 February 2022 | Jahmal Hector-Ingram | Derby County | Free |

### Out

| Date | Player | Transferred to | Fee |
| 1 June 2021 | Guy Melamed | Free agent | Free |
| 1 June 2021 | Craig Conway | Free agent | Free |
| 1 June 2021 | Olly Hamilton | Free agent | Free |
| 1 June 2021 | Lennon Smith | Free agent | Free |
| 1 June 2021 | Aiden Walsh | Free agent | Free |
| 1 June 2021 | Aaron Steele | East Fife | Free |
| 7 June 2021 | Scott Tanser | St Mirren | Free |
| 22 June 2021 | Alex Ferguson | Edinburgh City | Loan |
| 29 June 2021 | Michael MacFarlane | Edinburgh City | Free |
| 30 July 2021 | John Robertson | Edinburgh City | Free |
| 3 August 2021 | Ben Finnan | Kelty Hearts | Free |
| 31 August 2021 | Ali McCann | Preston North End | £1.2 Million |
| 31 August 2021 | Jason Kerr | Wigan Athletic | £600,000 |
| 28 September 2021 | Cammy Ballantyne | Montrose | Loan |
| 29 September 2021 | Callum Hendry | Kilmarnock | Loan |
| 1 January 2022 | Spencer Moreland | Stenhousemuir | Loan |
| 10 January 2022 | Viv Solomon-Otabor | Rukh Lviv | Free |
| 4 February 2022 | Efe Ambrose | Dunfermline Athletic | Loan |
| 7 February 2022 | Eetu Vertainen | Linfield | Loan |