ZANDER CLARK insists there is still plenty room for improvement at St Johnstone, despite their history making campaign last term. 

Callum Davidson’s side lifted both the Scottish and League Cup and also finished in fifth position in the Premiership. 

Clark played a huge role in Saints’ season last year and he is determined to ensure the success story does not come to an end in the near future. 

He explained: “Everybody is saying ‘how can they better last season?’ There were results that we weren’t pleased with and this time around we’ll be wanting to finish more games off. 

“There are definitely small things in-house that we’ll be looking to improve upon. That’s something we’ve spoken about. 

“It is a new season so you have to make sure you are ready to go. It is going to be hard to better the overall season though. 

 “It is all about maintaining standards. Everybody here wants to work hard for each other. If you don’t do that then boys will tell you to start pulling your weight. 

“That is one of the main reasons why we have been so successful over the last ten to 12 years.” 

Saints will be looking to hit the ground running this term with European football also on the horizon. 

Last season, Davidson’s team endured a poor start and were lingering at the foot of the table around Christmas before they turned things around in style to record the best season in their history. 

Clark continued: “Last season was a slow start and we definitely want to improve on that. But, I said it all last year, nothing really changed in terms of the performances from the start of the season to the end. 

“It was just things started turning as we became more solid defensively and started to take chances. At the start of the season we were struggling to put teams away having been so dominant. 

“One thing we are definitely looking to do this time is get off to a good start. We could have had more points but this season is a fresh start. We need to get as many points on board as quickly as possible and see where it takes us.” 

Saints take on Ross County this weekend with their cup double winning team still intact, despite transfer interest from south of the border. 

Ali McCann, Shaun Rooney, Jamie McCart and Jason Kerr have all been linked with moves away from Perth, but Clark is confident that his teammates will be at McDiarmid Park come the end of the transfer window. 

He said: “This time last year there were a few players bedding into the squad and we had a new manager. Once the squad gelled together, results started to come. 

“We’ve got through pre-season with pretty much the same group as we finished last season which is pleasing. Now we need to make sure we continue that form. There was obviously transfer talk but that’s gone now. 

“The boys are all focused on the start to the league and we all want to be involved in these glamour European ties – that’s our reward for last season. 

“I’m glad that everybody is still here and we’re starting the season with the squad intact.” 

Ahead of this weekend’s league opener against Ross County, Clark added: “This is what we’ve been gearing up for. Pre-season is good to get fitness into the legs but it will be great to get started again. We’re really looking forward to it. 

“The boys look and sharp and we’ve continued the sort of performances we put in towards the tail end of last season into our pre-season games, which is pleasing. 

“It’s not as hard as you might think to not look ahead to Galatasaray. Obviously that will be a really big game but Ross County is our only focus.”