St Johnstone boss Craig Levein left January transfer decision to Stevie May – and club legend wanted to STAY

Stevie May has revealed St Johnstone manager Craig Levein left a ‘stay or go’ January transfer window decision in his hands, as he did with fellow forward, Chris Kane.

Kane chose to move on loan to Dunfermline.

But May couldn’t picture a future away from McDiarmid Park for the remainder of the season.

“There were a couple of people made contact,” said the three-time cup winner. “But I wanted to be here.

“It wasn’t the best time for me to do anything else but stay and try and get back involved.

“We discussed what we thought was best – the manager said that I’m a senior professional and if I wanted to make a decision the other way he would understand.

“It was a similar situation to Kano.

“But I felt there were still things to be done here

“Football changes so quickly.

“Kano went out on loan as well which gave me a little bit more of a chance.

“The aim for the group is to keep the club up and I want to do as much as I can to help that happen.”

‘Things can change’

May made a first league appearance of 2024 in the closing stages of Wednesday night’s win in Aberdeen and then got around 45 minutes of game-time in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Livingston.

It’s a step in the right direction for the 31-year-old, whose last start was in December against Saints’ weekend opponents.

“It’s been frustrating to not be involved but I’ve kept training right and been hoping that I’d get my chance,” he said.

“Being involved in the last two games is a real positive for me.

“Things can change – I’ve seen it happen so many times.

“Players get injured, formations change and different things happen.

“You’ve always got to be ready.”

May wasn’t used in seven successive games and didn’t even make the bench for three of those.

“It’s not something I’ve been used to here,” he said.

“Sheffield Wednesday when they brought in loads of players springs to mind.

“It’s a bit new to me.

“But working hard and supporting the boys was the most important thing – it’s all about keeping this club in the Premiership.”

‘Big goal’ and ‘massive point’

May was delighted to contribute to a comeback point on Saturday, with Nicky Clark’s late header salvaging a point out of a game that had become an infuriating contest.

“That was a big goal for us,” he said.

“It’s always frustrating when you’re looking for an equaliser and a team is slowing the game down.

“We wanted to get some rhythm but there were so many stoppages. It was very stop-start.

“Once we scored we were pushing for a winner but the ball didn’t quite fall for us.

“To get a point after the game really hasn’t gone our way was massive.

“We kept fighting.

“We’d have taken four points at the start of the week and other results went our way as well.”