Source: team_talk
Craig looks for fine finish
Liam Craig is determined to finish the season with a bang as St Johnstone prepare to host Dundee United.
St Johnstone need just a point against Dundee United to book their top six place on Monday night but midfielder Liam Craig is determined to finish the season with a bang.
Fifth-placed Saints would put themselves out of reach of all of the bottom six including United by avoiding defeat in the Tayside derby at McDiarmid Park.
Consecutive top-six finishes would represent an excellent achievement for Steve Lomas' side, especially given that they would ensure finishes above clubs with the biggest spending power outside the Old Firm such as Hearts, Hibernian and Aberdeen.
But Craig is not content with that alone. St Johnstone set up a Europa League clash with Eskisehirspor last year by finishing fifth but they ended the season in unspectacular fashion and Craig wants to leave the club on a high before he joins Hibernian.
The 26-year-old said: "When you look at it, you wouldn't have expected that top six to be there with two games to go before the split.
"But this year has been tight and we're delighted to put ourselves in a position to make the top six again, especially after the start we made.
"We always knew we had the quality in the team and over the season so far, it has proved right.
"But when you look back to last season, we didn't win any of the last seven games, which by our standards isn't good enough.
"There are seven games left now and we don't want to stumble into the top six - we want to get there with two wins and give ourselves a chance of climbing the table.
"We want to make sure we go in there positive and make a better account of ourselves."Victory in the televised clash would move St Johnstone into fourth, three points behind Inverness and a guaranteed European spot.
"After we got a wee taste of it last year, we are determined to get back there," Craig said.
"For a lot of the boys it was their first experience. It was a great trip to Turkey, albeit the result wasn't what we wanted it was a great experience.
"It was something we wanted to build on this year and we have put ourselves in a position to do it again, so it is up to us to finish it off."
