2023–24 St Johnstone F.C. season

The 2023–24 season was St Johnstone's eleventh season in the Scottish Premiership and their fifteenth consecutively (following four in the former Scottish Premier League) in the top flight of Scottish football. Saints also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

St Johnstone

2023–24 season
Chief executive	Stan Harris
Manager	Steven MacLean (until 29 October) Alec Cleland (Interim) Craig Levein (from 5 November)
Stadium	McDiarmid Park
Scottish Premiership	Tenth place
Scottish Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Nicky Clark (6) All: Nicky Clark (6)
Highest home attendance	6,967, vs. Rangers, Premiership, 16 September 2023
Lowest home attendance	2,052, vs. Stirling Albion, League Cup, 29 July 2023
Average home league attendance	4,663
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

Season summary

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season and friendlies

Dunfermline Athletic v St Johnstone

4 July 2023	Dunfermline Athletic	1–1	St Johnstone	Dunfermline
19:45 BST	Wighton 13'	Report	Carey 26'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 1,617 Referee: Kevin Clancy

East Fife v St Johnstone

11 July 2023	East Fife	0–3	St Johnstone	Methil
19:45 BST		Report	Crawford 63' Mylchreest 65' Booth 85'	Stadium: Bayview Stadium Referee: Scott Lambie

Scottish Premiership

Main article: 2023–24 Scottish Premiership

St Johnstone v Heart of Midlothian

5 August 2023 1	St Johnstone	0–2	Heart of Midlothian	Perth
15:00		Report	Oda 75' Shankland 90+6'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,818 Referee: Steven McLean

Ross County v St Johnstone

12 August 2023 2	Ross County	2–0	St Johnstone	Dingwall
15:00	Turner 40' Randall 51'	Report		Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 4,157 Referee: William Collum

Celtic v St Johnstone

26 August 2023 3	Celtic	0–0	St Johnstone	Glasgow
15:00		Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,600 Referee: Matthew MacDermid

St Johnstone v Dundee

2 September 2023 4	St Johnstone	2–2	Dundee	Perth
15:00	Kucheriavyi 86', 90+6'	Report	Tiffoney 35' Lamie 58'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 5,935 Referee: William Collum

St Johnstone v Rangers

16 September 2023 5	St Johnstone	0–2	Rangers	Perth
15:00		Report	Danilo 16' Matondo 79'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,967 Referee: Nick Walsh

Hibernian v St Johnstone

23 September 2023 6	Hibernian	2–0	St Johnstone	Edinburgh
15:00	Miller 35' Vente 69'	Report		Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 16,850 Referee: Kevin Clancy

St Johnstone v Livingston

30 September 2023 7	St Johnstone	1–1	Livingston	Perth
15:00	Costelloe 36' Gordon  83'	Report	Kelly 57 pen.'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 2,691 Referee: Graham Grainger

Aberdeen v St Johnstone

8 October 2023 8	Aberdeen	0–0	St Johnstone	Aberdeen
15:00		Report		Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 16,816 Referee: David Munro

St Mirren v St Johnstone

28 October 2023 10	St Mirren	4–0	St Johnstone	Paisley
15:00	Baccus 36' Mandron 48', 70' Kiltie 90'	Report		Stadium: St Mirren Park Attendance: 5,552 Referee: David Dickinson

St Johnstone v Kilmarnock

1 November 2023 11	St Johnstone	2–1	Kilmarnock	Perth
19:45	Clark 1', 7' Costelloe  75'	Report	Vassell 47'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 2,840 Referee: Calum Scott

St Johnstone v Motherwell

7 November 2023 9	St Johnstone	2–2	Motherwell	Perth
19:45	Clark 17' Considine 27'	Report	Blaney 68' Biereth 74'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 3,513 Referee: Euan Anderson
Note: Match postponed due to Storm Babet

St Johnstone v Ross County

11 November 2023 12	St Johnstone	1–0	Ross County	Perth
15:00	Carey 71'	Report		Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 3,018 Referee: Nick Walsh

Heart of Midlothian v St Johnstone

25 November 2023 13	Heart of Midlothian	1–0	St Johnstone	Edinburgh
15:00	Shankland 61'	Report		Stadium: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 18,678 Referee: John Beaton

St Johnstone v Celtic

3 December 2023 14	St Johnstone	1–3	Celtic	Perth
12:00	Jaiyesimi 40'	Report	McGregor 61' O'Riley 79' Forrest 90+3'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,777 Referee: Don Robertson

St Johnstone v St Mirren

6 December 2023 15	St Johnstone	1–0	St Mirren	Perth
19:45	Kane 90+6'	Report		Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 2,449 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Motherwell v St Johnstone

9 December 2023 16	Motherwell	1–1	St Johnstone	Motherwell
15:00	Biereth 90+2'	Report	Mugabi 53 o.g.'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 3,647 Referee: Euan Anderson

St Johnstone v Hibernian

16 December 2023 17	St Johnstone	1–0	Hibernian	Perth
15:00	Carey 57'	Report		Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 4,276 Referee: Graham Grainger

Rangers v St Johnstone

20 December 2023 18	Rangers	2–0	St Johnstone	Glasgow
19:45	Dessers 28' Tavernier 84 pen.'		Jaiyesimi  33'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 46,931 Referee: Alan Muir

Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

23 December 2023 19	Kilmarnock	2–1	St Johnstone	Kilmarnock
15:00	Watson 6' Watkins 17'	Report	Clark 61'	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 5,074 Referee: John Beaton

Livingston v St Johnstone

27 December 2023 20	Livingston	0–0	St Johnstone	Livingston
19:45		Report		Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Attendance: 1,602 Referee: Kevin Clancy

St Johnstone v Aberdeen

24 January 2024 22	St Johnstone	1–1	Aberdeen	Perth
19:45	Keltjens 78'	Report	Miovski 62 pen.'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 3,472 Referee: John Beaton

St Johnstone v Motherwell

27 January 2024 23	St Johnstone	1–1	Motherwell	Perth
15:00	McGowan 3'	Report	Bair 29'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 3,412 Referee: Colin Steven

Ross County v St Johnstone

3 February 2024 24	Ross County	0–1	St Johnstone	Dingwall
15:00		Report	Kimpioka 34'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,913 Referee: Craig Napier

St Johnstone v Heart of Midlothian

7 February 2024 25	St Johnstone	0–1	Heart of Midlothian	Perth
15:00		Report	Shankland 55'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 4,518 Referee: Iain Snedden

Dundee v St Johnstone

11 February 2024 21	Dundee	2–1	St Johnstone	Dundee
14:00	McCowan 75 pen.' McGhee 89'	Report	Smith 9'	Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 7,102 Referee: David Munro
Note: Match postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

St Johnstone v Rangers

18 February 2024 26	St Johnstone	0–3	Rangers	Perth
12:00		Report	Diomande 37' Tavernier 79 pen.', 87 pen.'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,986 Referee: Matthew MacDermid

St Mirren v St Johnstone

24 February 2024 27	St Mirren	2–0	St Johnstone	Paisley
15:00	Mitov 36 o.g.' Mandron 64'	Report		Stadium: St Mirren Park Attendance: 5,991 Referee: Grant Irvine

Aberdeen v St Johnstone

28 February 2024 28	Aberdeen	0–2	St Johnstone	Aberdeen
19:45		Report	Clark 44 pen.' Kimpioka 77'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 14,226 Referee: Don Robertson

St Johnstone v Livingston

2 March 2024 29	St Johnstone	1–1	Livingston	Perth
12:00	Clark 87'	Report	Shinnie 37'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 3,287 Referee: Chris Graham

Celtic v St Johnstone

16 March 2024 30	Celtic	3–1	St Johnstone	Glasgow
15:00	Furuhashi 40' Kühn 46' Forrest 68'		Smith 81'	Stadium: Celtic Park Referee: Euan Anderson

St Johnstone v Dundee

30 March 2024 31	St Johnstone	1–2	Dundee	Perth
15:00	Sidibeh 60'	Report	Cameron 6' Bakayoko 80'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,691 Referee: Iain Snedden

Hibernian v St Johnstone

6 April 2024 32	Hibernian	1–2	St Johnstone	Edinburgh
15:00	Cadden 56'	Report	Sidibeh 49' Gallacher 81'	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 16,735 Referee: Grant Irvine

St Johnstone v Kilmarnock

13 April 2024 33	St Johnstone	0–2	Kilmarnock	Perth
15:00		Report	Wright 23' Watkins 81'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 4,087 Referee: Calum Scott

St Johnstone v Hibernian

27 April 2024 34	St Johnstone	1–3	Hibernian	Perth
15:00	Kimpioka 89'	Report	Marcondes 6' Hanlon 44' Vente 76'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 4,450 Referee: David Munro

Aberdeen v St Johnstone

4 May 2024 35	Aberdeen	1–0	St Johnstone	Aberdeen
15:00	Miovski 68 pen.'	Report		Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 15,537 Referee: Chris Graham

Livingston v St Johnstone

11 May 2024 36	Livingston	2–1	St Johnstone	Livingston
15:00	Montaño 72' Shinnie 90+5'	Report	Sidibeh 8'	Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Referee: John Beaton

St Johnstone v Ross County

15 May 2024 37	St Johnstone	1–1	Ross County	Perth
19:45	Sidibeh 90'	Report	Dhanda 28'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 4,202 Referee: Nick Walsh

Motherwell v St Johnstone

19 May 2024 38	Motherwell	1–2	St Johnstone	Motherwell
15:00	Ebiye 90+4'		Clark 18' Sidibeh 45+1'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,571

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Scottish League Cup

Stenhousemuir v St Johnstone

15 July 2023 1	Stenhousemuir	1–0	St Johnstone	Stenhousemuir
15:00	O'Reilly 49'	Report		Stadium: Ochilview Park Attendance: 1,376 Referee: Calum Scott

Alloa Athletic v St Johnstone

22 July 2023 2	Alloa Athletic	0–4	St Johnstone	Alloa
15:00		Report	Ballantyne 1' McGowan 20' May 63' McCrystal 89'	Stadium: Recreation Park Attendance: 992 Referee: Grant Irvine

St Johnstone v Ayr United

25 July 2023 3	St Johnstone	1–2	Ayr United	Perth
19:45	Kucheriavyi 43'	Report	Stanger 29' Dempsey 71'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 2,669 Referee: Nick Walsh

St Johnstone v Stirling Albion

29 July 2023 4	St Johnstone	0–4	Stirling Albion	Perth
15:00		Report	Spence 11' Milne 36' McLean 48', 54'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 2,052 Referee: Euan Anderson

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Scottish Cup

Airdrieonians v St Johnstone

20 January 2024 Fourth Round	Airdrieonians	1–0	St Johnstone	Airdrie
15:00	Todorov 54'	Report		Stadium: Excelsior Stadium Referee: Kevin Clancy

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 15 May 2024^[1]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		Scottish Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	BUL	Dimitar Mitov	40	0	37	0	1	0	2	0
3	DF	SCO	Tony Gallacher	21	1	12+4	1	1	0	4	0
4	DF	SCO	Andrew Considine	32	1	24+3	1	1	0	3+1	0
5	DF	AUS	Ryan McGowan	32	2	26+1	1	1	0	3+1	1
6	DF	SCO	Liam Gordon	34	0	28+1	0	1	0	4	0
7	FW	SCO	Stevie May	31	1	8+18	0	0+1	0	4	1
8	MF	SCO	Cammy MacPherson	10	0	3+7	0	0	0	0	0
10	FW	SCO	Nicky Clark	21	6	15+5	6	1	0	0	0
11	MF	IRL	Graham Carey	37	2	27+7	2	1	0	2	0
13	MF	ENG	Diallang Jaiyesimi	15	1	9+5	1	0+1	0	0	0
14	MF	ENG	Drey Wright	11	0	7+1	0	0	0	3	0
15	MF	UKR	Max Kucheriavyi	32	3	17+10	2	1	0	4	1
16	FW	GAM	Adama Sidibeh	13	5	9+4	5	0	0	0	0
17	DF	ENG	Oludare Olufunwa	10	0	7+3	0	0	0	0	0
19	DF	SCO	Luke Robinson	32	0	31	0	0+1	0	0	0
20	GK	SCO	Ross Sinclair	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
21	MF	SCO	Ali Crawford	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
22	MF	WAL	Matthew Smith	33	0	29+3	0	1	0	0	0
23	MF	AUT	Sven Sprangler	19	0	11+7	0	0+1	0	0	0
24	DF	SCO	Callum Booth	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
27	MF	ENG	Jay Turner-Cooke	5	0	2+3	0	0	0	0	0
29	FW	SWE	Benjamin Mbunga Kimpioka	15	3	6+8	3	1	0	0	0
31	GK	WAL	Dave Richards	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF	ISR	David Keltjens	12	1	12	1	0	0	0	0
34	MF	TRI	Daniel Phillips	34	0	31+1	0	0	0	1+1	0
35	DF	SCO	Kerr Smith	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0
46	MF	POL	Fran Franczak	9	0	6+2	0	1	0	0	0
50	MF	SCO	Connor Smith	10	1	4+6	1	0	0	0	0
Departures
2	DF	MLT	James Brown	12	0	8+3	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW	SCO	Chris Kane	14	1	7+7	1	0	0	0	0
16	FW	WAL	Luke Jephcott	11	0	3+5	0	0	0	3	0
18	DF	NIR	Sam McClelland	7	0	5+2	0	0	0	0	0
25	MF	SCO	Cammy Ballantyne	6	1	2	0	0	0	4	1
27	MF	SCO	Alex Ferguson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
30	GK	SCO	Jack Willis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	GK	SCO	Craig Hepburn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	SCO	Liam Parker	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
33	FW	SCO	Taylor Steven	5	0	0+2	0	0	0	0+3	0
38	MF	SCO	Scott Bright	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
42	MF	SCO	Ben McCrystal	2	1	0	0	0	0	0+2	1
44	FW	IRL	Dara Costelloe	11	1	8+3	1	0	0	0	0
45	FW	SCO	Jackson Mylchreest	4	0	0	0	0	0	0+4	0

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
8	Hibernian	38	11	13	14	52	59	−7	46
9	Motherwell	38	10	13	15	56	59	−3	43
10	St Johnstone	38	8	11	19	29	54	−25	35
11	Ross County (O)	38	8	11	19	38	67	−29	35	Qualification for the Premiership play-off final
12	Livingston (R)	38	5	10	23	29	70	−41	25	Relegation to Championship

Source: ^[2][3]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-Head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).^[4]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

League Cup table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AYR	STI	STJ	STE	ALL
1	Ayr United	4	3	1	0	0	10	2	+8	11	Qualification for the second round		—	—	—	1–0	6–0
2	Stirling Albion	4	3	0	1	0	9	3	+6	10			1–1p	—	—	2–1	—
3	St Johnstone	4	1	0	0	3	5	7	−2	3			1–2	0–4	—	—	—
4	Stenhousemuir	4	1	0	0	3	3	6	−3	3			—	—	1–0	—	1–3
5	Alloa Athletic	4	1	0	0	3	4	13	−9	3			—	1–2	0–4	—	—

Source: ^[5]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.^[6]

Transfers

Main articles: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2023 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2023–24

In

Date	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Source
14 July 2023	Dimitar Mitov	Cambridge United	Free	[7]
21 July 2023	Luke Jephcott	Plymouth Argyle		[8]
3 August 2023	Sam McClelland	Chelsea		[9]
4 August 2023	Oludare Olufunwa	Liverpool		[10]
5 August 2023	Matthew Smith	MK Dons		[11]
1 September 2023	Sven Sprangler	SK Vorwärts Steyr		[12]
2 January 2024	Benjamin Mbunga Kimpioka	AIK		[13]
9 January 2024	David Keltjens	Hapoel Tel Aviv		[14]
26 January 2024	Connor Smith	Heart of Midlothian		[15]
1 February 2024	Adama Sidibeh	Warrington Rylands	Undisclosed	[16]

Out

Date	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Source
30 May 2023	Bobby Dailly	Romford	Free	[17][18]
	Murray Davidson	Retired		[17][19]
	Charlie Gilmour	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Free	[17][20]
	Melker Hallberg	Kalmar FF		[17][21]
	Spencer Moreland	Brechin City		[17][22]
	Jamie Murphy	Ayr United		[17][23]
	Michael O'Halloran	Dunfermline Athletic		[17][24]
	William Sandford			[17]
	Eetu Vertainen	Triestina		[17]
	David Wotherspoon	Inverness Caledonian Thistle		[17][25]
16 June 2023	Elliot Parish			[26]
4 July 2023	Theo Bair	Motherwell		[27][28]
25 January 2024	Luke Jephcott	Newport County		[29]

Loans in

Date	Player	Transferred from	Source
11 August 2023	Dave Richards	Crewe Alexandra	[30]
15 August 2023	Dara Costelloe	Burnley	[31]
22 August 2023	Luke Robinson	Wigan Athletic	[32]
24 August 2023	Jay Turner-Cooke	Newcastle United	[33]
1 September 2023	Diallang Jaiyesimi	Charlton Athletic	[34]
	Kerr Smith	Aston Villa	[35]

Loans out

Date	Player	Transferred to	Source
27 June 2023	Craig Hepburn	Cowdenbeath	[36]
11 August 2023	Jackson Mylchreest	Tranent	[37]
	Bayley Klimionek	Berwick Rangers	[38]
18 August 2023	Alex Ferguson	Queen of the South	[39]
25 August 2023	Taylor Steven	Alloa Athletic	[40]
15 September 2023	Ben McCrystal	Broomhill	[41]
4 October 2023	Scott Bright	Berwick Rangers	[42]
	Joe Ellison
6 October 2023	Liam Parker	Civil Service Strollers	[43]
24 December 2023	Kyle Thomson	Brechin City	[44]
6 January 2024	Callum Booth	The Spartans	[45]
5 February 2024	Sam McClelland	Dundee United	[46]
6 February 2024	Cammy Ballantyne	Clyde	[47]
9 February 2024	James Brown	Raith Rovers	[48]
13 February 2024	Chris Kane	Dunfermline Athletic	[49]
28 February 2024	Jack Willis	Queen's Park	[50]

See also

• List of St Johnstone F.C. seasons