St Johnstone

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St Johnstone remain in contract talks with centre-half Bozo Mikulic, goalkeeper Ross Sinclair and winger Taylor Steven, but five players have been released as the Perth club prepare for their return to the Scottish Premiership.

Fran Franczak, who became their youngest-ever player when he made his debut aged 16 in 2023, fellow midfielders Stevie Mallan and Jonathan Svedberg, right-back Reghan Tumilty and left-back Scott Bright are to leave at the end of their contracts.

It had already been announced that winger Josh McPake had agreed a contract to join Hearts.

Bozo Mikulic has spent 18 months on the sidelines through injury, Sinclair has returned to McDiarmid Park after helping St Mirren avoid relegation on loan, while Taylor played 10 times after returning from his loan to Arbroath in January.

The exiting Svedberg, 27, joined Saints in January 2025 after leaving Halmstads, and made 16 starts and seven appearances from the bench.

Tumilty, 29, joined last summer after leaving Hamilton Academical, and went on to make 14 appearances – eight from the start and six off the bench.

Mallan, 30, also arrived last summer after a spell without a club, and made 19 appearances.

The 18-year-old Franczak, a Poland Under-18 international, made 28 appearances, 13 of them starts, while fellow youth product Bright, 19, played just four times.

Meanwhile, Hearts defender Adam Forrester, Falkirk forward Alfredo Agyeman, Port Vale striker Ruari Paton and Portsmouth goalkeeper Toby Steward will return to their parent clubs following their loan spells.

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Promoted St Johnstone avoided Scottish Premiership rivals after the draw for next season's Premier Sports Cup group stage but will face two other league champions.

With the Championship winners among the second seeds, Simo Valakari's side could have been in a section with another top-flight side.

But instead they were drawn with Championship side Greenock Morton, League 1 champions Inverness Caledonian Thistle, East Fife and Lowland League champions Linlithgow Rose.

It will be Ian Murray's first full season in charge of Morton after taking over from Dougie Imrie in January but only just avoiding a relegation play-off by finishing eighth.

Scott Kellacher's Caley Thistle edged out Stenhousemuir on the final day of the League 1 season to make an automatic return to the second tier.

At the same time, Dick Campbell's Fifers just avoided a play-off at the other end of the table as they finished eighth.

Meanwhile, Gordon Herd's Linlithgow were denied a place in the Pyramid Play-off semi-final because of they did not meet the requirements for entry to the Scottish Professional Football League.

Last season, St Johnstone topped their group, beating then Lowland League champions East Kilbride and Caley Thistle before losing to Motherwell in the second round.

Next season's group stage begins on 11/12 July and finishes on 25/26 July.

Bozo Mikulic will attempt to earn a new St Johnstone contract in pre-season with the 29-year-old centre-half's current deal running out after 18 months on the sidelines through injury. (The Courier), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Goalkeeper Ross Sinclair will remain at St Mirren on another seven-day emergency loan from St Johnstone.

The 24-year-old joined last week and started in the Buddies' 2-0 defeat to Livingston.

It was the goalkeeper's first appearance since May 2025 when St Johnstone were last in the Scottish Premiership.

St Mirrren's first-choice keeper Shamal George remains on the sidelines while back-up Ryan Mullen is out for at least three months with a thigh tear sustained in the Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Celtic.

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Josh McPake backs himself to be a success next season when he makes the switch from St Johnstone to Hearts.

The 24-year-old winger has scored 19 goals this season, helping the Perth side win the Scottish Championship and promotion back to the top flight.

But it was announced in January that he had signed a pre-contract agreement to join the current Premiership leaders this summer.

"I think I am ready to take that step up," he told BBC Scotland. "I know Hearts are a massive club, but I back myself.

"I could do it here and I think I can do it at Hearts as well and we'll need to wait and see next season."

McPake was speaking after helping Saints beat Raith Rovers 2-0 on the night the Perth side were presented with the Championship trophy.

"I feel brilliant," he said. "What a result and what a season we've had.

"As a team collectively, we've been brilliant all season and this just tops it off."

McPake started his career with Rangers but had loan spells with Dundee, Greenock Morton, Harrogate, Morecambe, Tranmere Rovers and Queen's Park before finding himself released and joining Stirling Albion.

He then suffered relegation to League 2 before being snapped up by St Johnstone in June 2024.

McPake paid tribute to Simo Valakari for the manager's role in his fine season.

"This club's been absolutely brilliant for me at a time I needed it and hopefully I've repaid them," he added as he explained their warm embrace at the final whistle.

"It was emotional for me and for Simo, just for what we've done for each other."

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St Mirren have signed St Johnstone goalkeeper Ross Sinclair on a seven-day emergency loan.

First-choice Shamal George is already out injured, while back-up Ryan Mullen - who gifted the opening goal - was forced off in the first half of Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic and will now miss at least three months with a torn thigh muscle that requires surgery.

Sinclair, 24, has not featured for Championship winners St Johnstone this season, but made 10 appearances in the Premiership last term.

He is likely to make his debut against St Mirren on Saturday.

Josh McPake, the 24-year-old winger who will join Hearts this summer from St Johnstone, has revealed that he was poised to join Forest Green Rovers until then manager Troy Deeney had a rant against his own players and was dismissed shortly afterwards. (The Courier), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

St Johnstone will not have talks with 29-year-old centre-half Bozo Mikulic, who is out for the rest of the season through injury and is out of contract this summer, until they know if promotion to the Scottish Premiership is secured. (The Courier), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Former Scotland left-back Barry Douglas has officially announced he is retiring from "the playing side of the beautiful game", stressing his "immense pride" after a career during which he won league titles in England and Poland.

The 36-year-old has been without a club since leaving St Johnstone following their relegation from the Scottish Premiership last summer.

But, before then, he had twice won the Ekstraklasa, and the Polish Super Cup, with Lech Poznań, the Turkish Cup with Konyaspor and the Championship in England with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United.

"In my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd make it as a professional footballer - never mind win multiple titles in different countries and go on to play almost 500 games," Douglas said on Instagram., external

"Now that I'm finally 'hanging up the boots', I can look back with immense pride, knowing I gave it everything I had."

In a time when the Scotland left-back spot was dominated by Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, Douglas managed just one cap, as a substitute for the former in a 1-0 win over Hungary in 2018.

"Every kid grows up dreaming of playing for their country - so to have made that a reality is something I'll always be incredibly proud of," he said.

Having started his career with Queen's Park, Douglas moved to Dundee United, Lech, Konyaspor, Wolves, Leeds and, after a loan to Blackburn Rovers, returned for a second title-winning spell with Lech before his final season with St Johnstone.

Douglas paid special tribute to his wife, Debbie, saying his globetrotting career was "as much yours as it is mine".

"The truth is, without you by my side, I would never have achieved what I have," he added.

"I'm forever grateful for your support, your sacrifices, and for taking that leap into the unknown when we first moved to Poland together to begin our adventure.

"Now look at us - two beautiful kids, multiple winners' medals and memories that will last a lifetime."