This piece is an extract from yesterday's McDiarmid Memo newsletter, which is emailed out at 6pm every Thursday.
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As a football supporter when times are hard the least you expect to see is a bit of a fight and passion out on the pitch.
So far this season St Johnstone have lacked exactly that, but in the past couple of weeks, a shining light has emerged in Steven MacLean’s team.
We had to wait a while to see Sven Sprangler in action, but what a difference the Austrian has already made to a Saints team who appear starved of confidence and desire across the pitch.
The combative midfielder was signed up after a successful trial period at the club and was described as a “destroyer” by his manager when the paperwork was completed. And reviewing his first couple of performances, you can why see his boss labelled him a warrior from the off.
You never like to get carried away too early, but even at this stage of the season you feel if Saints are to remain in the division, then Sprangler will have a hugely important role to play.
The 28-year-old looks neat and tidy on the ball, his fight and determination must be admired, but it’s his personality in interviews and his respect for the Perth support that is already making him a fan favourite so early in his McDiarmid Park career.
I watched on as a punter from the East Stand on Saturday and there was an obvious sense of frustration at full-time as Saints failed to win in their seventh attempt in the Scottish Premiership season.
But despite this, it said a lot that many stayed and applauded as Sprangler made time to acknowledge each and every supporter who had paid their admission fee. He walked the length of the East and Main Stands while pounding the St Johnstone crest and you felt like he really meant it from the heart.
Sprangler described his move to Saints as a “dream come true” and he is playing like a man on a mission to ensure his dream does not become a nightmare. It is that type of passion that us fans love, and we just need to hope that his standard-setting can pull out more from his teammates too, with that elusive first win still to come.
There is currently a feeling of where is that first win going to come from, and it is definitely a worry with the club rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table. The first-half performance against Livingston had positives though and MacLean and his squad need to build on that as they head to Aberdeen this weekend.
Saints piled bodies into the final third and with Luke Jephcott and Dara Costelloe leading the line, there were almost signs of a partnership forming, something the Perth side have lacked since Nicky Clark was sidelined through injury.
Jephcott's touch around the corner for Costelloe's second chance after he opened the scoring was a touch of class and hopefully a sign of things to come.
Having two bodies spearheading the attack made a huge difference and with support coming from Drey Wright, Graham Carey and Max Kucheryavyi it finally felt like St Johnstone carried a bit of a threat in and around the penalty box.
Sprangler also appears to complement Daniel Phillips well in the middle of the park and the pair without a doubt won their midfield battle in the opening period. That must continue if Saints are to have any chance in matches going forward.
Defensively Saints also looked comfortable with Andy Considine the pick of the bunch and I feel the former Aberdeen man deserves credit for his displays in recent weeks, despite results not going the team's way. The experienced former Scotland international will be hurting more than anyone, but he has stepped up his game when needed given an inexperienced backline has been formed with little time to gel.
The second half against Livi of course did not go to plan, but that was down to Saints themselves. Liam Gordon will have regrets about getting himself involved with Joel Nouble for both the penalty and red card as St Johnstone were in complete control up until that point.
The penalty award resulted in a performance implosion on the park and all of a sudden Saints were back to square one with the team having an inability to keep possession to form attacks. A full 90-minute display is needed if Saints are to get off the mark this season and it must come soon.
I would just like to finish by thanking you all for signing up for the McDiarmid Memo and if you enjoyed my first newsletter, please pass on this sign-up link (https://www.heraldscotland.com/newsletters/sport/2607/) to any Saints fans you feel may be interested.
Catch you next week and fingers crossed for three points at Pittodrie.
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