Liam Gordon believes St Johnstone’s January transfer activity will prove pivotal in their quest to avoid relegation and climb the cinch Premiership table.
Saints were in dire straits a couple of weeks ago as a run of 10 straight defeats in all competitions left them bottom of the league and eliminated from the Scottish Cup by League Two side Kelty Hearts.
The Perth side have steadied the ship, however, with two goalless draws and a win from their last three games and captain Gordon believes the arrival of a host of new faces – including Melker Hallberg, Dan Cleary, John Mahon, Theo Bair, Nadir Ciftci and Tony Gallacher – has helped galvanise the squad.
“The new guys have settled in well,” said Gordon. “They’ve impressed a lot on the field and in training, and just as importantly off the field. They’re all good lads who want to be here and work hard.
“Having that in the dressing room is massive for us because we’re a club that has built ourselves on that foundation for years of having that fight, character and heart. Having players coming in with those attributes is massive for us and it’s given the rest of us a massive lift going forward.
“We’ve always had a lot of experience here and the guys that have come in have added to that. We’ve also got exciting young players among the new additions so there’s a great balance in the squad now that should hopefully help us push on.”
Saints’ recent results have lifted them a point above Dundee at the bottom of the table. Although still in danger of relegation, they feel they can chase down the teams above. On Wednesday they visit a St Mirren side who are currently 10 points ahead of them.
“It’s been a positive last couple of weeks and we’re just looking to build on it,” said Gordon. “There’s an opportunity to try and close the gap on St Mirren. The incentive is always to try to get as close to the teams above us as possible and just keep climbing the league table.
“We just want to win as many games as we can and get up that league table.
“With the situation we were in a couple of weeks ago, you would be saying that we just want to avoid the drop – and that still is the case – but we also want to hunt down the teams above us and see where that leaves us at the end of the season.”
