Steven MacLean feels his St Johnstone team are starting to click but he knows they need victories to validate that belief.
The Perth side remain bottom of the cinch Premiership with no wins from their opening eight league matches.
However, they have drawn four of their last six – including away to Celtic and Aberdeen – and MacLean senses they are ready to get off the mark in the coming weeks, with Saturday’s game at home to Motherwell followed by fixtures against St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Ross County.
“We’re hoping we’ve turned a corner,” said the Saints boss. “We’re seeing good signs but we need to start winning games. We’ve got a good run of fixtures coming up.
“The league’s so tight and even, it’s just small margins in games, so we need to make sure we take our chances when they come and that we keep clean sheets as well.”
Fifth-place Motherwell head to Perth hoping to halt a run of four consecutive defeats, but MacLean is not reading much into the Fir Park side’s recent form.
“Motherwell started the season really well and they’ve probably had a sticky spell recently but I’ve watched their games and they’ve performed well in some of them,” said MacLean.
“If you take the Livingston game out of the equation, where they had a man sent off, they performed well against Celtic, Rangers and St Mirren, so they’ll probably say – the same as us – that they just need a bit of luck.
“They’re a good side with good threats and good shape about them so we know it will be a tough game but it’s one we hope we can go and win.”
Recently-recruited Austrian midfielder Sven Sprangler, who has played each of the last three matches, has enjoyed his early days at Saints.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “It was always a dream to play in Scotland so it’s a dream come true. I’ve enjoyed every single moment. I love it here.
“My team-mates have helped me a lot since I came here. They’ve made me very welcome since day one.
“When I played my first game here (at McDiarmid Park), I enjoyed every second of it. The fans are special. When I came here I got so much love from them and I want to give them something back.”
After playing in a defeat and two draws, Sprangler hopes to savour his first win this weekend.
“We are playing good,” he said. “The results are okay but we have to win now.
“We know Motherwell are a good team but we will do everything for the win. We didn’t lose in the last two games, which is good. We hope we can give our fans a win.”
