We didn't win the league, in fact we were miles behind Falkirk at the end of the season, but we did manage to finish second, a massive improvement on recent years. We came second in the under 19 and reserves leagues too, and finished runners up in the SFA Youth Cup. Progress is definitely being made.
Relegation was never an issue, in fact for a short while in September promotion looked a possibility as we topped the league for the first time since 2000. Sadly it didn't last for more than a few weeks but it was fun while it lasted. For the first time since 1999 I was able to enjoy my Easter holidays knowing for sure what league Saints would be playing in the following season.
There have been some incredible highlights. The 2-1 win over Partick at Love Street was a fantastic match and put us top, whilst the 3-0 win at Firhill in November was also enjoyable (typically I wasn't there). There was also a nice run in the Scottish Cup and two wins over champions Falkirk, part of a run of five successive wins towards the end of the season.
Sadly there were also some lowlights. We suffered our usual cup embarrassment, this time Forfar humping us out of the League Cup 5-2 at Love Street. There was the awful run of form from the end of November to the end of January which finished off our title challenge, along with four 0-0 draws thanks to the injury to Stewart Kean. Draws cost us far, far too much over the season.
The defence was good last season and even better this season. The club record for clean sheets was broken, helped due to the same goalkeeper and defenders being available every season. Craig Hinchcliffe was superb, making just a couple of errors (typically these were at crucial times rather than when games were won or lost). Kirk Broadfoot was fantastic, despite being convicted of assault, and made the Scotland under 21 squad whilst attracting interest from other clubs. Kevin McGowne went from Captain Chaos to Captain Slightly Less Chaotic, and Andy Millen showed moany footballers a thing or two by playing every game and a few reserve games, despite being nearly 40! The defensive record is also partly down to the contribution of midfielder Mark Reilly, who has been a fantastic signing from St. Johnstone.
It's fairly obvious to see where our problems have been - up front. Things started off well enough, with new signing Mixu Paatelainen (also from St. Johnstone) getting a few goals along with midfielder John O'Neill. Then Mixu got injured and O'Neill dried up in December and problems arose. Allan Russell didn't hit form until the end of the season when he was chasing a new contract (although he'd hardly been played until then), whilst John Baird rarely played. New signing Stewart Kean, a £30,000 buy from Ayr United, ended up joint top scorer but suffered injuries. Brian McGinty failed to score a goal all season from open play yet made nearly 30 starts! He undoubtedly has pace, but seems unable to combine it with good finishing or passing.
McGinty wasn't the only disappointment of the year. Big things were expected of Simon Lappin this season yet he played poorly, whilst Saints legend Ricky Gillies had a terrible year and won't be at the club next season.
We've broken hoodoos, finally winning in Falkirk for the first time in 18 years and beating Ross County away for the first time in five. In fact, County only took one point off us all season! We also got to the Scottish Cup final for the first time since 1987, a great achievement.
There were the usual jinxes though. We were dumped out of two cups in the first round and were one of the few sides to lose to one of the worst ever first division sides when Raith Rovers beat us 2-0 in January.
I'll be honest and say I thought we'd struggle this season with an inexperienced manager and hardly any signings. You can see at the link at the bottom of this article how bad I thought we'd be. So it's been a nice surprise.
Now things are different. Expectations have risen and we go into the summer full of confidence and hoping for a title challenge next season. There will be new signings and hopefully a new stadium soon.
We might not have won anything in 2004/05, but it could well be the stepping stone for future success.
To laugh at my predictions from the start of the season, click here.