Summer arrivals at McDiarmid Park have not improved St Johnstone enough to keep them out of another relegation scrap, says former Saints goalkeeper Cammy Bell.
The Perth club were beaten 2-1 at home in their opening Scottish Premiership fixture by Aberdeen on Monday and were dominated by their visitors for large spells, particularly in the first half.
“There was patches in the game they did okay,” Bell told BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast. “I wouldn’t say it was an inspiring performance from my point of view.
“It was probably where I expect St Johnstone to be at this moment in time. I’ve tipped them to probably be towards the bottom of the table.”
That’s even with a fresh-looking defence and goalkeeper, with last season’s stalwarts Dimitar Mitov, Ryan McGowan, Liam Gordon and Andy Considine all moving on.
“They’ve just survived over the last few years and I don’t see really any indication from the signings that have come in so far that it’s going to be any different this season,” Bell added.
“Probably Craig Levein knows that he’s in a dogfight from day one.
“They were competitive against Aberdeen, they didn’t let them blow them away, but I think if Aberdeen were a little bit more ruthless, it could have been a completely different score and they could have been out of sight.
“They hung in there, they showed a little bit of fighting spirit and Craig’s got to hang on to any positives.”
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