Disgruntled supporters have continued to vent their frustrations as St Johnstone prepare to welcome a much-reduced home crowd for Saturday's Scottish Cup tie.
Saints, as has been well documented, are giving up three of their four stands to Rangers for the fourth round fixture at McDiarmid Park while ticket prices have been agreed at £30 for adults and £20 for concessions.
The announcement, back on December 30, was met with wide-stretching disappointment - with some then suggesting a boycott of the match.
The Perth club’s statement on the matter had noted that they realised the arrangements would “inconvenience” some supporters and apologised for it, but looked forward to a “healthy backing”.
“It was a bit of a shock that the club was going down that line and not really giving any reasoning as to why that had to happen,” explained Jamie Beatson (36), editor of the We Are Perth forum and an East Stand season ticket holder.
“I know from sitting in the East Stand that, if you go to a game against Rangers or Celtic, the number of people in the stand is probably half of what it normally is.
“The club correctly identified that. But instead of thinking what they can do to make it more attractive, they have decided to cast the Saints fans aside. It is a huge misstep as far as I can see.”
Earlier this week and as the match edges closer it was understood that home end ticket sales - just the Main Stand - were struggling to break the 300 mark.
Beatson, from St Madoes and a Saints supporter all of his days, believes fans are “voting with their wallets and feet”.
“One of the big things that needs to be noted is that this is not an organised boycott,” he continued.
“It is not being led by a fan group. This is simply a St Johnstone fanbase looking at what they have been offered and saying no thank you.
“This is people voting with their wallets and with their feet, saying this is not an acceptable way to treat your own supporters. That should ring alarm bells with the club.”
Potentially giving the opposition an upper hand by allowing their supporters to dominate the stadium does not sit well with Beatson, especially considering Saints’ recent success in the competition.
Not so long ago Perth fans watched from home as their favourites lifted the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park and completed the most remarkable of domestic doubles.
“The message that this has sent out to fans, I think, is that the club has given up any hope of winning this game and have decided to cash in,” Beatson said. “That is what it looks like from the outside.
“We beat Rangers last time out at McDiarmid Park and, the last time we won the Scottish Cup, we beat Rangers at Ibrox to get to the latter stages. The club could have pushed a promotional narrative of ‘we want more’.
“You wouldn’t be able to move without seeing videos of James Brown scoring in November or Zander Clark nodding the ball down for Chris Kane.
“It feels like a crazy position to take, given the very recent history of games between the two clubs.
“The likelihood is, in most circumstances, Rangers will progress in the tie. But why not give ourselves the best chance and try to get as many Saints fans into the ground as you possibly can.”
He added: “I’m quite sure there will be people on the fence who will buy a ticket last minute. We might get 500 or 600 home fans at the game.
“I’ve been to reserve games back in the day that had more people at them than will be at this game on Saturday.
“Given our history with the Scottish Cup over the last 10 years, that is an absolute tragedy.”
The PA has asked St Johnstone for confirmation in relation to ticket sales ahead of the match and if any further statement would be provided.
