St Johnstone

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• Hibs have won three of their last five home games against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership (D1 L1) whilst keeping four clean sheets across those meetings.

• St Johnstone have won two of their last four league meetings with Hibs (D1 L1), the same number of victories as they recorded across their previous 12 such games against the Leith club (D3 L7).

• Hibs have won each of their last three home league games, last winning more in a row at Easter Road in April 2018 under Neil Lennon (seven in a row).

• St Johnstone have scored just seven goals in 15 away games in the Scottish Premiership this season (W2 D4 L9), fewer than any other team, whilst only Livingston (six) and Ross County (eight) have picked up fewer points on the road in the division than the Saints this term (10).

• Myziane Maolida has scored in each of his last four Scottish Premiership games; the last player to score in five straight top-flight appearances for Hibernian was Christian Doidge in December 2019.

St Johnstone are just a point clear of Ross County in the relegation play-off place and are without a win in their last three games.

With that in mind, who would you pick to start against Hibs? Tell us your preferred starting XI here.

Scotland Under-19s head coach Billy Stark has announced his decision to retire at the end of this month, and believes the future is bright for the national team.

Stark's impressive playing career saw him turn out for St Mirren, Aberdeen, Celtic, Kilmarnock and Hamilton, before he managed at clubs such as Morton, St Johnston and Queen’s Park.

He had a spell as Scotland Under-21s manager, before taking up his current post in 2018.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the best young players in Scotland throughout my two spells at the association," Stark said.

“I would like to thank the staff and players who have helped me throughout the years.

“Regarding our most recent group, we are proud of the achievement to qualify for the elite round and, although it was disappointing not to progress to the finals, the players in this group will be better for the experience and I am certain we will see them continue to flourish in the future.”

St Johnstone defender Ryan McGowan talks to the Scottish Football Podcast about the club's current situation.

Listen to the full episode here.

I don't think I've left a match with as many mixed emotions as I did on Saturday after St Johnstone lost 2-1 to Dundee at McDiarmid Park.

'Delight' for Adama Sidibeh for getting his first goal for the club, and a delightful finish it was too. Him pointing to the badge and kissing the shirt in his celebration will only endear him to fans.

'Satisfaction' that the performance was actually alright compared to recent outings, especially in the second half when we tried to get forward and do the right things.

'Disappointment' that we couldn't take anything in what was a massive game. We've played a lot worse than that and taken at least a point.

Finally, 'despair'. VAR is a constant talking point and everyone is frankly bored of it. I thought Ryan McGowan goal should have stood, but the referee refused to overturn his initial decision even after the ref in the lorry told him to have another look at it.

I have absolutely no idea how I'm going be feeling come tea time every Saturday but going forward it needs to be 'contented'. And quickly, otherwise it could be the Championship for Saints next season.

Sam Miller can be found on the Dogger Saints podcast, external.

We asked for your thoughts on St Johnstone's 2-1 defeat against Dundee.

Here's a taste of what you had to say on the Tayside derby:

Anon: Freedom from the sixth minute onwards to dominate the game, yet forced to rely on a worldie goal to even draw level, before falling behind again with the first chance after. Lazy management again - no proactive attempt to improve things, the game was level and the team was tiring, but left players on because of being scared to change it. Add in VAR killing the excitement of an overhead kick.

Ally: Listening to Craig Levein's post match interview it is no surprise that we are in the position we are. His ideal result is 1-0. You need a really solid midfield and defence, we have neither. The man is a fraud and should be nowhere near Saints. It will take a big turnaround for us to avoid the play-off spot.

Bradley: Rubbish in the first half, but good in the second, even though we got beat.

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Craig Levein refused to criticise Dimitar Mitov following his error in the 2-1 home defeat by Dundee.

He was a mile off his goalline in an effort to close down Amadou Bakayoko, who found Lyall Cameron for the midfielder to loft a precise finish into the net.

“That’s our best defensive display for a while,” the St Johnstone manager said.

“Dimi hardly had anything to do. We made two mistakes and got punished for them both which is a bit harsh. But when you’re in this position it can happen.

“The answer is to keep plugging away. If we play like that every week we’ll be fine.

“I thought our defending was fantastic. Dimi has been fantastic, arguably our best player since I’ve been here, so I won’t criticise him.

“He made a mistake which cost us a goal which is highly unusual then the next shot on target is probably the second goal.”

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein refused to criticise Dimitar Mitov following the goalkeeper's error in the 2-1 home defeat by Dundee. (Courier - subscription required), external

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Were you at McDiarmid Park or following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game – have your say here.

St Johnstone boss Craig Levein

"We have been a wee bit inconsistent in our performances and today was one of the better ones so to come away with nothing from the game is a wee bit of a sickener.

"When you are on a run like we are, you have to be perfect. I should have been talking about Adama's [Sidibeh] goal, it was his first for the club, but we are not, we're talking about little errors, tiny errors that we made that resulted in two goals.

"When things are going with you, you get away with those things but things aren't going with us. Their goalkeeper had next to nothing to do. Ultimately the scoreline is the thing that matters.

"I am realistic and I try my best to tell the truth to the players and that is as good as we've played for a while, we created more chances than we have done for a while but we just didn't have a perfect performance because if we had we'd have won 1-0.

"It is tough down the bottom end of the league and we just need to keep fighting, there is nothing else for it.

"We can take solace from the fact that we played well today and I'm hoping we can continue that and put the same performance in next week.

"I have no complaints about the effort from the players. We just need to stick together, fight hard and performances like that will get us out of bother."

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It’s a sore way to lose for St Johnstone who may feel they deserved something out of the game. It was a fairly underwhelming first half for Craig Levein’s side who certainly grew into the game towards the end of the first 45 minutes.

They showed great character to come back into the game and Adama Sidibeh’s goal will be talked about for years to come, not to mention it was his first for the season.

There’s certainly positive signs for Craig Levein’s side in terms of attacking threat as the split nears but still a lot of work to be done if they want to stay in the top flight for next term.It’s a sore way to lose for St Johnstone who may feel they deserved something out of the game. It was a fairly underwhelming first half for Craig Levein’s side who certainly grew into the game towards the end of the first 45 minutes.

They showed great character to come back into the game and Adama Sidibeh’s goal will be talked about for years to come, not to mention it was his first for the season.

There’s certainly positive signs for Craig Levein’s side in terms of attacking threat as the split nears but still a lot of work to be done if they want to stay in the top flight for next term.

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St Johnstone make three changes to the side that were on the losing end of a 3-1 scoreline against Celtic last time out.

Andy Considine and Graham Carey drop to the bench, while Sven Sprangler misses out completely with an injury. Tony Gallacher, Nicky Clark and Max Kucheriavyi all start. Connor Smith, who was a doubt with illness, is fit enough to make the bench.

Just the one change for Tony Docherty's side from the last time they played a competitive match over two weeks ago. Curtis Main drops out of the squad with a hamstring injury but Jordan McGhee, Zach Robinson and Ryan Howley are all fit enough to make the bench. Still no sign of Trevor Carson with Harrison Sharp on the bench.

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St Johnstone: Mitov, Gallacher, McGowan, Gordon, Clark, Kucheriavyi, Sidibeh, Robinson, M. Smith, Keltjens, Phillips

Substitutes: Richards, Considine, May, Carey, Crawford, Kimpioka, Franczak, C. Smith

Dundee: McCracken, Dodgson, Shaughnessy, Tiffoney, Bakayoko, Cameron, McCowan, Donnelly, Sylla, Portales, Costelloe

Substitutes: Sharp, Astley, McGhee, Lamie, Robinson, Robertson, Howley, Boateng, Mellon

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David Keltjens says there's not too much between the teams in the Premiership as St Johnstone look to secure their top-flight status.

The Israel international arrived in Perth in January and has only suffered defeat on three occasions, but his side lie in 10th, just one point above the relegation play-off.

“You don’t feel a very big difference between the teams," Keltjens told Saints TV. "Every game you can win, you can lose, and everything changes.

“Most of the teams are the same level and there’s not much points between the teams so every game is very important and from now until the end of the season every game is like a cup final.

“We all know the importance of the remaining games and the next match is a derby against Dundee. We know how important it is in our own stadium.”

Sven Sprangler's injury adds to that of Ali Crawford, Cammy MacPherson, Ross Sinclair, Kerr Smith and Drey Wright for St Johnstone.

Lee Ashcroft, Owen Beck, Trevor Carson, Ryan Howley, Jordan McGhee, Josh Mulligan, Diego Pineda and Zach Robinson have been missing of late for Dundee.