Ahead of St Johnstone’s opening-day meeting with Kilmarnock last weekend, manager Simo Valakari warned of his side’s need to be ‘solid’ and ‘streetwise’ this season or else face up to the prospect of a speedy return to the second tier.

How boring. The more seven-goal thrillers they produce this season, the better.

Defensively, they were all over the shop in that 4-3 victory. But going forward, they were a joy to watch.

More of the same, please, as far as the neutrals are concerned.

Valakari appeared to thoroughly enjoy it too — far more than his Killie counterpart, Neil McCann, it must be said — but even he accepted that kind of performance isn’t going to be sustainable.

When the Finn first arrived in Perth back in October 2024, he quickly went to work on implementing a more progressive style than had been offered up by his predecessor Craig Levein.

Saints boss Simo Valakari wants his side to stick to their principles in the Premiership

There were glimpses of what he was trying to do throughout that season, but ultimately, they never really looked like pulling off The Great Escape and went down with a fair bit to spare.

Nevertheless, spotting an opportunity for a much-needed reset, the club stuck with him. And, perhaps more importantly, so did the supporters.

It would have been easy enough to scrap the whole thing and tell Simoball where to go. But the decision to let him have a crack at getting the club back to the top flight at the first time of asking paid off in spades.

In the rough and tumble of the Championship, they coasted it. The question now is whether the Saints can pick up results regularly against the big boys playing in the same manner.

Well, of course they can. Just take Falkirk as an example.

The Bairns earned all sorts of plaudits for their easy-on-the-eye style throughout their long journey back up to the top tier under John McGlynn, and they had no problem maintaining it last season.

Yes, they may have surpassed all expectations by finishing sixth, but it was by no means a fluke. And theirs should be the blueprint for St Johnstone to follow.

Granted, it may be asking a little much to be on the right side of the split come April, but there’s no reason why that can’t be the objective for Valakari and his men.

While last season’s Premiership season will be hard to top in terms of drama, let’s not kid ourselves. The standard was — for the most part — pretty dire.

Thank goodness for the likes of Falkirk and Motherwell, who at least tried to get bums on seats with a forward-thinking approach. And their fans lapped it up.

Much of St Johnstone’s hopes will rest on the shoulders of creative midfielder Jamie Gullan 

It would be good thing for the Scottish game as a whole to see St Johnstone produce something similar.

With the exception of Josh McPake — now plying his trade at Hearts — the Saints have managed to keep the chief protagonists of their Championship-winning squad at McDiarmid Park, while bolstering the squad with a raft of new players.

Bosnian left-back Enes Alic will likely be the ninth to arrive when he puts pen to paper over the coming days, barring any hiccups.

‘You cannot buy the culture,’ Valakari explained earlier this week. ‘You cannot buy the togetherness.’

That continuity should play in their favour. And it shouldn’t be forgotten that St Johnstone have real quality in their ranks too.

Jamie Gullan was pipped to the PFA Championship Player of the Year Award by McPake last term, and the midfielder was outstanding against Killie on Sunday, assisting three of the four goals.

Ahead of him, Josh Fowler has the raw materials at his disposal to be a handful for defenders this season. He’s off to a perfect start after opening his Premiership account last week.

St Johnstone’s issues primarily relate to keeping goals out at the other end. To an extent, they could get away with mistakes in the Championship, but they won’t have that luxury this time around.

Pragmatism will, in some instances, need to be prioritised. But Valakari doesn’t need to be told this, of course. 

He’s positive, not naïve. He certainly knows his side can’t afford to ship three goals against St Mirren today and realistically expect to come out on the right side of the result.

Killian Phillips (centre) netted a double for St Mirren in their impressive win away at Falkirk

Having been tipped as relegation fodder by everyone and their granny during the off-season after surviving by the skin of their teeth via the play-offs, the Buddies came up with a terrific display away at Falkirk to take all three points on Matchday One.

It’s fair to say the fans weren’t thrilled with the permanent appointment of Craig McLeish following Stephen Robinson’s departure to Aberdeen. Their concern was understandable.

But he ultimately kept them in the division, successfully guided them through the Premier Sports Cup group stage in the summer, and against all odds, got them off to a winning start in the league.

For the time being, at least, he has shut a few people up.