professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

Scottish football Association football is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of ...

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1886–87 and they joined the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

in 1911–12. Historically, St Johnstone tended to float between the top two divisions of Scottish football and gained the reputation of being a "

yo-yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...

". The team won the

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

, then the second tier of Scottish league football, in 2008–09, bringing a return of first tier football to McDiarmid Park for the 2009–10 season after a seven-year absence. They played in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

, rebranded as the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

in 2013, for sixteen consecutive seasons, their longest ever stay in the highest league until relegation in 2025. St Johnstone's traditional rivals are the two

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

clubs,

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

, with matches between St Johnstone and either Dundee club being called " Tayside derbies". St Johnstone had limited success in cup competitions for the first 130 years of their history, losing at the semi-final stage on numerous occasions, as well as losing two

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

finals. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, they won their first

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Livingston 1–0 in the League Cup final and Hibernian 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final. They have also won the Scottish second tier seven times, the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, the B Division Supplementary Cup in 1949 and the Scottish Consolation Cup in 1911 and 1914. They have qualified for European competitions in seven seasons, including four consecutively from

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

to

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Their highest league position in the top division is third place on three occasions:

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

.

History

Origins

St Johnstone FC was formed by members of a local

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club seeking ways to occupy their time and keep fit once the cricket season had finished. The cricketers were kicking a football around the South Inch, a large public park beside the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

during the autumn of 1884. This is widely acknowledged to be the date of the formation of St Johnstone Football Club, although it was not until early in the following year that a group of footballers, led by John Colborn, held an official meeting that led to the formation of the football club as a separate entity rather than a 'spin-off' from the cricket club.Official club website history section
Football was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland and, although there were other local clubs including Fair City Athletic, Erin Rovers and Caledonian Rangers (based at Perth railway station), it was St Johnstone that became the one most associated with the town. The name is traced back to the Middle Ages when Perth was colloquially known as 'St John's Toun' (or 'Saint Johnstoun') as the church at the centre of the parish was dedicated to

St John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

.

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is the name given to a spec ...

(The Lamb of God), the symbol associated with John the Baptist, forms part of St Johnstone's club badge. Club members leased a piece of land adjacent to the South Inch, known as the Recreation Grounds, which became St Johnstone's first home ground. After several decades – and regular problems with flooding – it became clear they had outgrown the venue and so, in 1924, they moved to the other side of Perth and built Muirton Park, which would serve as their home for the next 65 years.

1886 to 1972

St Johnstone made their debut appearance in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1886–87 tournament but were defeated 7–1 in a first round replay by the Erin Rovers club, also based in Perth, after a 3–3 draw at home. In the 1910–11 Scottish Division Two season, Port Glasgow Athletic F.C. finished next to bottom and declined to apply for re-election. They were replaced for the 1911–12 Scottish Division Two season by St Johnstone, who finished fifth in their first season with ten wins and eight defeats. St Johnstone were promoted to the old First Division in 1924–25, by winning the Second Division title, and appointed David Taylor as team manager. They remained in the top flight until 1929–30 when they finished bottom of Division One. Two years later, under new manager Tommy Muirhead, the Saints were runners-up in Division Two to gain their second promotion. They performed well in Division One through the 1930s, reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in 1933–34 and finishing fifth in 1932–33 and 1934–35. In the final season before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, St Johnstone played well under manager David Rutherford to finish eighth. The Scottish Football League suspended competition for the duration of the war but sixteen clubs were able to form a regional Southern Football League that managed to operate each season. St Johnstone were closed for most of the war and lost their top flight status as a result. The Southern Football League continued through the post-war 1945–46 season but with two divisions to incorporate clubs that were restarting, including St Johnstone. The Saints played in the 1945–46 B Division and finished sixth of fourteen clubs. When the Scottish League restarted in 1946, the Southern League set-up was used as the first post-war competition, so the A Division became the new First Division and the B Division the new Second Division. St Johnstone had lost all the ground gained in the 1930s and could only finish ninth in Division Two in 1946–47. Jimmy Crapnell became the team manager for the 1947–48 season and was succeeded by Johnny Pattillo for 1953–54. The Saints remained in the Second Division throughout the tenures of these two managers.

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

took over in the summer of 1958 and, in his second season 1959–60, the club finally won promotion again. Brown and his successor

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and ...

both managed

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

after leaving St Johnstone. In 1970–71, under Ormond, Saints finished third in the league and qualified for the

1971–72 UEFA Cup The 1971–72 UEFA Cup was the inaugural season of the UEFA Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League, which became the third club football competition organised by UEFA. The tournament retained the structure and format of the Inter-Cities Fairs C ...

.

Cup Competitions

The club historically has had little success in national competitions. Prior to winning the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

in 1996, and winning the trophy in 2007 with a 3–2 victory over

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

. Saints' Scottish Cup win came after seven semi-final appearances dating back to 1934. They have never won the top league. There were two appearances in the final of the League Cup, losing first to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

1–0 in 1969 and 2–1 to Rangers in 1998, with

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

internationalist Nick Dasovic scoring for ''Saints''. In 2020–21, St Johnstone won their first League Cup and second Scottish Cup to complete a historic Cup double, becoming only the fourth team to achieve the feat. They defeated Livingston 1–0 in the League Cup final and Hibernian 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final. Defender Shaun Rooney headed the winner in both matches.

Willie Ormond era

In terms of the league, the club's highest-ever finish has been third place in the old First Division, which has occurred on three occasions. The first was in 1970–71, when ''Saints'' finished behind Celtic and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

but ahead of Rangers. The team was mostly the 1969 League Cup team, managed by

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and ...

, who eventually went on to manage

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The club had some notable players during this period, who later went on to success at other clubs, e.g. Henry Hall, Alex MacDonald, John Lambie, John Connolly, and Jim Pearson. This third-placed finish led to a European adventure in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, beating

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

giants

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

and Hungarians

Vasas SC Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest. Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...

before finally going out in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

to

FK Željezničar Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Željezničar Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Жељезничap Сарајево; English language, English: Football Club Željezničar Sarajevo), commonly referred to as Željo, is a professional Association fo ...

. The club continued to play in the top division of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

until reconstruction in 1975, but were relegated from the new Premier Division in its first season, and turned part-time for the first time since 1961. McDiarmid Park's south stand is named the Ormond Stand in his honour.

Relegations and rebuilding

It took ''Saints'' until 1983 to return to the top flight – albeit for a single season and as part-time team – before setting a record through suffering two successive

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

s in 1984 and 1985. They eventually found themselves bottom of the entire league in 1986 and skirted with financial oblivion, before local businessman Geoff Brown stepped in. An unprecedented change in the club's focus occurred over the next decade or so, with the move from long-term home Muirton Park to the new purpose-built

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

on the outskirts of the city, the first purpose-built all-seater stadium built in the United Kingdom. The new stadium was named to recognise the donation of land by local farmer Bruce McDiarmid. This plus the input of significant transfer funds and the appointment of manager Alex Totten spurred ''Saints'' through the leagues. They obtained promotion to the First Division in 1988. ''Saints'' then won the First Division championship and promotion to the Premier Division in 1990 during the first season of football at McDiarmid Park. After 15 years as a semi-professional outfit, the club turned full-time again when promotion was achieved. ''Saints'' finished 1990–91 in 7th place, but their season was buoyed by an appearance in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,John McClelland for the 1992–93 season. The Northern Irishman didn't fare much better, however, leading the club to 6th place. Another semi-finals cup appearance, this time the League Cup, sweetened the campaign slightly. St Johnstone's four-year run in the Premier Division came to an end in 1993–94, a 10th-placed finish sending them back to the First Division. McClelland left the club before the season ended, and was replaced by former Dundee United striker

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

.

Success in the 1990s

Under Sturrock's stewardship, more emphasis was placed on the club rearing its own players. This bore fruit in the form of Callum Davidson and Danny Griffin. Sturrock also introduced – at least in principle – the concept of morning and afternoon training sessions in an attempt to raise the fitness level of his players. In Sturrock's first full season in charge, ''Saints'' finished 5th in the First Division and reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup. In 1995–96, he led them to fourth place and a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1996–97 with the First Division championship and a return to the top flight. The club more than held their own in the first season back. Their 5th-placed finish meant they became founder members of the SPL the following season. Although Sturrock soon left for

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

, the club found a second 'golden period' in 1998–99 under new manager

Sandy Clark Alexander Clark (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who manages Scottish Lowland Football League club Albion Rovers. Career Clark played for several clubs in his playing career including his h ...

, when the club finished third in the SPL behind Rangers and Celtic. ''Saints'' also reached the final of the League Cup and the semi-finals of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,7–0 home defeat
, but ''Saints'' won 3–1 in the other game. Their finishing position in the league meant ''Saints'' had qualified for the 1999–00

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

campaign. They started with a 3–1 aggregate win in the qualifying round over Finnish side VPS Vaasa, but were beaten 6–3 on aggregate by French giants

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

in the first round proper. The return leg meant that international stars such as Fabien Barthez, John Arne Riise and

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (, ; born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at ...

played at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

. St Johnstone remained unbeaten at home in European competitions until their tie against FC Minsk in 2013.

The new millennium

After a period of steady decline, the club were eventually relegated from the Premier League in 2002. Clark's replacement, Billy Stark, oversaw this relegation, and left the club in 2004 after two seasons of varying success. With the club in eighth place after a poor 2004–05 season under Stark's replacement, John Connolly,

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

took charge in April 2005, ushering in a promising new period in which St Johnstone earned second-place finishes in 2005–06 and 2006–07. There was also cup success under Coyle. On 8 November 2006, St Johnstone beat Rangers 2–0 at Ibrox to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Steven Milne Steven Milne (born 5 May 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for Dundee, Forfar Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, St Johnstone, Ross County and Arbroath. Milne received a runners-up medal in the 2003 Scott ...

scored both of the goals. This was the club's first victory at Ibrox since April 1971. It was also the first time the club beat Rangers in a cup competition, and the first time that Rangers had been eliminated from a major cup competition at home by lower-division opposition. On 31 January 2007, ''Saints'' were knocked out of the League Cup at the semi-finals stage by Hibs. On 14 April 2007, St Johnstone were beaten 2–1 by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

at Hampden in the semi-finals of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Queen of the South, while table-toppers Gretna played out a goalless draw against the visiting Clyde, which put the Perth club just one point (and seven goals) behind Gretna. As a result, the First Division championship was to be decided on the final day of the season. Seven days later, St Johnstone were pipped to the First Division championship by Gretna, who had led the division for the majority of the season. ''Saints'' won 4–3 at Hamilton Academical, but James Grady scored an injury-time winner for Gretna at Ross County minutes after the St Johnstone game had finished. The results maintained Gretna's one-point lead and they achieved promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

under former ''Saints'' player Davie Irons. Owen Coyle left the club on 22 November 2007, to become manager of English club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. ''Saints'' next game, the Challenge Cup Final against

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

three days later, saw them win their first cup since the Scottish Consolation Cup of 1911, with a 3–2 victory. St Johnstone midfielder Derek McInnes was appointed as Coyle's replacement as manager on 27 November 2007, after Coyle's assistant, Sandy Stewart, who had been in charge in a caretaker-manager capacity for the Challenge Cup Final, decided to follow Coyle south to Burnley. McInnes began as a player-manager. Results to the end of 2007 continued the indifferent form shown under Coyle, leaving St Johnstone in third place, some way behind the leaders. In 2008 the club did, however, reach the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup for the second consecutive season, losing out to Rangers on penalties after extra time. It was the club's seventh appearance in the semi-finals, and their seventh defeat. On 2 May 2009, ''Saints'' beat Greenock Morton 3–1 at McDiarmid Park to clinch the First Division title and a return to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

after a seven-year absence. They finished eighth in their first season back. In November 2011, on the same day the club announced the appointment of manager Steve Lomas, it was also announced that club chairman Geoff Brown, the longest-serving chairman in Scottish football, was retiring and therefore stepping down from his post. His son, Steve, was handed control of the club. In June 2013 Steve Lomas left the club to manage Millwall and Tommy Wright was appointed as his replacement. In his first competitive game in charge, Wright lead St Johnstone to a 1–0 victory against Rosenborg BK in Norway. This was the club's first away win in Europe in over 40 years.

The Golden Age: Tommy Wright, Callum Davidson and Cup glory

On 13 April 2014, St Johnstone reached their first-ever Scottish Cup Final, after defeating

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

2–1 in the semi-final at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

."St Johnstone 2 – 1 Aberdeen"
– BBC Sport, 13 April 2014 They won the final against Tayside rivals

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

on 17 May, 2–0 at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. The club won its second major cup seven years later, defeating Livingston 1–0 in the February 2021 Scottish League Cup final. Shaun Rooney scored the only goal of the game. Later that season, St Johnstone won its second

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hibernian 1–0, with Shaun Rooney again scoring the only goal of the game in the 32nd minute, the same time as his winner in the League Cup Final. This victory meant St Johnstone had become the first team outside of the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

to win a cup double since

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in 1990, and beating 10,000/1 odds to do so. St Johnstone also qualified for Europe for the sixth time in ten seasons, having only qualified twice before in their history. On 14 May 2025, the club were relegated from the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 2002 after a 2–1 loss to Heart of Midlothian, coupled with Ross County's 1–1 draw with

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

.

Local rivals

St Johnstone share a

Tayside Tayside () was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 16 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named after the River Tay. History Tayside region was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act ...

rivalry with both

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. It was against the former on New Year's Day 1997 that they recorded their biggest league win in recent memory, 7–2.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Below is a list of all of St Johnstone's kit suppliers and shirt sponsors: Source
/small>

Players

Current squad

On loan

Notable players

For a list of all St Johnstone players with a Wikipedia article, see '' :St Johnstone F.C. players''. In October 2013, the club inducted the first five members to its "Hall of Fame" intended to formally recognise those who have made a significant contribution to the club. Those inducted were John Brogan, Joe Carr, Willie Coburn, Roddy Grant and Henry Hall. The inaugural event took place at a dinner ceremony at Perth Concert Hall. During the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, David Wotherspoon became the first St Johnstone player to appear in a World Cup match when he made a substitute appearance in the 76th minute for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a group stage loss against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

on 1 December.

Club staff

Directors

Source:

Coaching staff

Source:

Managerial history

St Johnstone has had 27 full-time managers in its history. The longest-serving manager was David Rutherford (11 years), although his tenure was interrupted by the Second World War. The club has, on average, appointed a new manager every 3.8 years.

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and ...

and

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

both left "Saints" to manage the Scotland national team. * Peter Grant (1919–20) * James Buchan (1920–22) * David Taylor (1924–31) * Tommy Muirhead (1931–36) * David Rutherford (1936–47) * Jimmy Crapnell (1947–53) * Johnny Pattillo (1953–58) *

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

(1958–67) *

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and ...

(1967–73) *

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

(1973–76) * Jim Storrie (1976–78) * Alex Stuart (1978–80) * Alex Rennie (1980–85) * Ian Gibson (1985–87) * Alex Totten (1987–92) * John McClelland (1992–93) *

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...

(1 August 1993 – 5 September 1998) *

Sandy Clark Alexander Clark (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who manages Scottish Lowland Football League club Albion Rovers. Career Clark played for several clubs in his playing career including his h ...

(7 September 1998 – 25 September 2001) * Billy Stark (2001–04) * John Connolly (2004–05) *

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

(15 April 2005 – 21 November 2007) * Derek McInnes (27 November 2007 – 18 October 2011) * Steve Lomas (3 November 2011 – 6 June 2013) * Tommy Wright (10 June 2013 – 2 May 2020) * Callum Davidson (1 June 2020 – 16 April 2023) * Steven MacLean (27 May 2023 – 29 October 2023) *

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...

(5 November 2023 – 17 September 2024) * Simo Valakari (1 October 2024 – present) Prior to Peter Grant's appointment in 1919, the team was picked by committee – a practice in wide use at the time.

Honours

League

* Scottish second-tier league titlesKnown as the Second Division prior to 1975. **Winners (7): 1923–24, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1996–97, 2008–09

Cup

*

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2013–14, 2020–21 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

**Winners: 2020–21 *

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2007–08 * B Division Supplementary Cup **Winners: 1948–49 *Scottish Consolation Cup **Winners: 1910–11, 1913–14

Doubles

*Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup: 2020–21

Statistics

Records

Team

*Record home

attendance Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effective ...

: **Recreation Grounds: 12,000 vs

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

( Division Two, 14 April 1923) **Muirton Park: 29,972 vs

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

(

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

( Premier Division, 23 May 1999) *Record win: 13–0 vs Tulloch (Perthshire Cup, 17 September 1887) *Record loss: 11–1 vs Montrose ( Northern League, 1 April 1893) *Longest unbeaten sequence: 21 league matches (2008–09) *Record transfer fee paid: £400,000 for Billy Dodds (

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, 1994) *Record transfer fee received: £1,750,000 for Callum Davidson (

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, 1998)

Individual

*Most capped player: Nick Dasovic – 26 caps for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

while with the club *Record appearances:

Liam Craig Liam Craig (born 27 December 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is an attack-minded creative midfield player who operates on the left side of midfield or in a central position. He has played for Falkirk, St Johnstone and H ...

– 442 *Most goals: John Brogan – 140 *Most goals in one season: Jimmy Benson – 44 ( 1931–32) *Most goals in one game: Willie McIntosh – 6 (vs Albion Rovers, League Cup, 9 March 1946)
Source

Average attendances

Past averages: * 2019–20: 4,091 * 2018–19: 3,938 * 2017–18: 3,809 * 2016–17: 4,392 * 2015–16: 3,880 * 2014–15: 4,522 * 2013–14: 3,806 * 2012–13: 3,712 * 2011–12: 4,170 * 2010–11: 3,841 * 2009–10: 4,717 * 2008–09: 3,522 * 2007–08: 2,959 * 2006–07: 2,812 * 2005–06: 2,667 * 2004–05: 2,414

European record

St Johnstone have qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

(formerly the UEFA Cup) on eight occasions. The furthest they have progressed is the third round, which occurred in 1971–72, their debut season in the tournament.

History

Origins

1886 to 1972

Cup Competitions

Willie Ormond era

Relegations and rebuilding

Success in the 1990s

The new millennium

The Golden Age: Tommy Wright, Callum Davidson and Cup glory

Local rivals

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Players

Current squad

On loan

Notable players

Club staff

Directors

Coaching staff

Managerial history

Honours

League

Cup

Doubles

Statistics

Records

Team

Individual

Average attendances

European record

Further reading/bibliography

References

External links