Late goals from Yutaro Oda and Lawrence Shankland gave Hearts a winning start in the cinch Premiership as they defeated St Johnstone 2-0 at McDiarmid Park.

In a closely-fought game, Oda made the breakthrough with 15 minutes to go, drilling an unstoppable low shot past Dimitar Mitov,.

Shankland rubbed salt into the St Johnstone wounds by tapping in with almost the last kick of the game to double the advantage.

Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark had earlier denied Graham Carey and Liam Gordon with strong saves, while Kyosuke Tagawa should have marked his debut with a goal for the visitors as he failed to capitalise on a one-on-one chance.

Despite competing well for large periods of the match, St Johnstone have now begun the season with four defeats in five matches, following losses to Stenhousemuir, Ayr United and Stirling Albion in the Viaplay Cup.

Saints boss Steven MacLean had unsurprisingly made six changes to the side who suffered the 4-0 loss to Stirling last week, while Oludare Olufunwa and Sam McClelland made their debuts after signing this week.

For Hearts, this game represented their first competitive match of the season, and they also gave debuts to new signings in the shape of Frankie Kent and Calem Nieuwenhof.

The match was initially delayed by 10 minutes due to a power issue with the VAR technology and the game began without VAR for a short period before the problem was resolved.

When the game did get underway it was the hosts who started better and captain Gordon should have given them an early lead as his sliced Carey’s cross wide from close range.

Hearts had started slowly but they grew into the match after the 20 minute mark, with Peter Haring heading a deflected Nieuwenhof cross wide and Nathaniel Atkinson skewing a low shot wide when well placed in the box.

Shankland had his first chance just before the break as he met Stephen Kingsley’s deep free-kick with a volley that was too close to Mitov in the home goal.

St Johnstone had the first chance of the second period as the lively Carey capitalised on a poor clearance by cutting inside and unleashing a powerful effort with his right foot that was parried away by Clark.

Clark was called into action again just before the hour mark, making a superb one-handed stop to deny Gordon a headed goal before the Hearts defence scrambled the ball clear of danger.

Hearts got better as the half went on and they should have scored in the 67th minute as Shankland met Kingsley’s low cross but his first-time shot was well stopped by Mitov.

Mitov then made an even better save moments later, sticking out a strong hand to deny substitute Tagawa when clean through.

Mitov’s heroics proved in vain, however, as Hearts made the breakthrough in the 75th minute.

Atkinson’s deep cross eventually dropped at the back post for Oda, who showed composure to take a touch and rifle a low shot across the St Johnstone goalkeeper and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Hearts could have added to their lead, with Liam Boyce and Kye Rowles seeing attempts saved by Mitov, before they wrapped up the win in style, as substitute Boyce broke clear and laid the ball on a plate for Shankland, who could not miss.

St Johnstone have signed former Plymouth and Swindon striker Luke Jephcott on a two-year contract.

The 23-year-old hit 33 goals in 106 league games for Argyle and spent last season on loan at Swindon, where he struck seven times.

The former Wales Under-21 international said on his new club’s official website: “I’m a player who loves to be in and around the box.

“Inside the penalty area I’ll score goals but can also drop a bit deeper to help link up play.

“I’m here to score goals and help the team as best as I can.”

Steven MacLean admits he is “very close” to his first summer signing at St Johnstone amid reports that goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov is on his way to McDiarmid Park.

The 26-year-old Bulgarian, who was most recently at Cambridge, has been heavily linked with a move to the Perth club.

Speaking ahead of the ViaPlay Cup opener away to League Two side Stenhousemuir on Saturday – Alloa, Ayr and Stirling are also in the group – MacLean would not be drawn on speculation linking him with Mitov but said: “Ideally I would like to have a couple of more players in but I am comfortable with what I have got and really looking forward to the game.

“We are very close to one. I will let you speculate.

“Hopefully that will be done soon and other things are happening.

“We maybe missed out on one yesterday, he chose to go somewhere else but things are starting to move.

“You can see targets that we had that were maybe a ‘no’ are starting to come around. It is getting there. But we still want quality.”

On the subject of goalkeepers, MacLean admitted competition was needed for 22-year-old Ross Sinclair, who was on loan to Montrose for the first part of last season.

The former Saints striker and coach said: “I have always said it. I want to bring in a keeper to challenge Ross and push him.

“Ross is a top keeper and hopefully will be a St Johnstone player for a long time but it is important that you have competition for places.”

MacLean is looking for a lively start to the season from his side.

St Johnstone drew their first two ViaPlay Cup ties last season against Annan and Queen of the South and failed to get out the group, setting the tone for a season of struggle which ended with MacLean taking over from Callum Davidson in April and steering the Perth club away from relegation.

He said: “It is massive for the club that we get out of this group stage.

“I want to win the four games and top of the group and be seeded as well. Every game in its own right will be difficult.

“It is the old saying that for the lower league teams, games against us will be their cup final and they will work that bit harder so it is important that we have a good mind-set and good attitude and go into the games positively.”

MacLean revealed striker Chris Kane will miss the season opener with an ankle injury that requires a scan.

He said: “He rolled his ankle and there is a little bit of discomfort. We have got him a scan to clear up any doubt and hopefully it comes back clear.”

David Wotherspoon has expressed his gratitude to those who helped him achieve “10 magnificent years” at hometown club St Johnstone.

The 33-year-old midfielder joined Saints from Hibernian in 2013, helped the Perth club win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 2014 and was part of the side which remarkably won the Scottish Cup and League Cup double in 2021.

St Johnstone confirmed on Tuesday that the Canada international is one of 14 players who will be leaving this summer as new manager Steven MacLean revamps his squad.

Wotherspoon posted on Twitter: “After 10 magnificent years, playing at the club I grew up supporting, my time has come to an end.

“The memories created throughout my time at St Johnstone have been incredible and will never be forgotten.

“Firstly I’d like to thank the players I have had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with. Such a great group of lads who have supported and shown me great friendships.

“To the managers I have had the pleasure of working under and had so much success with. Thank you for giving me the chance to play for the team I love!

“To the backroom staff and other staff members that work in the club that have helped me out over the years. I am truly grateful for everything you have done for me.

“A big thank you and love to my wife and kids for their support over the 10 years, it’s been so hard on them but they were always there for me through the highs and the lows.”

St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean has decided against offering three-time trophy winner David Wotherspoon a new contract as he begins a ruthless squad overhaul.

The 33-year-old midfielder has spent 10 years with his hometown club and helped them to Scottish Cup glory in both 2014 and 2021 as well as the 2021 League Cup.

However, Wotherspoon is one of 14 players who will be leaving Saints this summer as MacLean, who was appointed permanent boss last weekend following an encouraging stint as interim manager, prepares to rebuild the squad following two consecutive seasons of battling relegation.

The Canada international will be given a testimonial year by the club, with details to be announced in due course.

Michael O’Halloran, Eetu Vertainen, Jamie Murphy, Charlie Gilmour, Bobby Dailly, Spencer Moreland and William Sandford are the other players who have not been offered new deals, while veteran midfielder Murray Davidson had already decided to retire after 14 years with Saints.

Remi Matthews, Alex Mitchell, Adam Montgomery, Zak Rudden and Connor McLennan will all return to their parent clubs after being on loan at Saints, while Theo Bair has been made available for transfer.

“I’ve had conversations with all of the lads who were out of contract and one or two of the decisions were hard ones to break to the players involved,” MacLean told Saints’ website.

“Jamie is a model professional and gave his all for Saints in his year here. Michael has been part of the cup successes. I wish them both well.

“David is a St Johnstone legend and I have total respect for him as a professional footballer and as a person.

“He’s played a huge role in all of our successes in the past decade.

“I’ve had a chat with him to explain the reasons behind my decision. I feel I have made the right choice for the football club as we move forward.

“I’d like to wish David the very best in whatever comes next for him in his career.”

Recently-appointed chief executive Stan Harris paid tribute to long-serving duo Wotherspoon and Davidson.

“David has made a significant contribution to St Johnstone over a decade and fully deserves his status as a club legend,” he said. “On and off the park, he has served us wonderfully well.

“He goes with the best wishes of myself and everyone else on the board.

“Also, on behalf of the board, we wish Murray Davidson the very best as he retires from football. Murray has been at Saints for 14 years and his overall contribution has been outstanding.”

Liam Gordon is adamant St Johnstone will not panic after being dragged back into a relegation battle.

The Perth men looked comfortable just a couple of months ago as they chased a place in the top six while other teams near the bottom struggled for form.

But after failing to win any of their last seven games, they go into the post-split fixtures having allowed 10th-placed Dundee United and 11th-placed Kilmarnock to close to within two points of them, while they are just six points clear of last-placed Ross County.

Captain Gordon – whose side needed a relegation play-off to survive last term – is adamant he and his colleagues will not allow the renewed threat to their cinch Premiership status to spook them.

“It’s not rocked us at all,” he said ahead of Saturday’s showdown with United at McDiarmid Park. “It’s obviously a position we didn’t want to find ourselves in because of the position we were in (recently) but these things happen in football.

“We had a couple of poor weeks and we find ourselves in this situation and it’s up to ourselves to get out of it but I wouldn’t say we’re rocked at all.

“We know the task at hand, we’re all prepared and we’re ready to do it. The pressure is always high at any stage of the season but obviously it is coming to crunch time.

“We’ve got five cup finals left, and it’s not just us who will be looking at it like that. But if we apply ourselves the way we know we can and keep to the level of performance we put in against Hibs (in the recent 1-1 draw), we should be good.”

Gordon has been impressed by the manner in which his former team-mate Steven MacLean has handled himself since stepping up to become interim manager following the sacking of Callum Davidson last month.

“He’s been really good,” said the defender. “He’s obviously been in a coaching role for a while so he’s got that experience under his belt but he’s always been very knowledgeable, you could see that from the way he played the game himself.

“He had a great understanding of the game, he was a very clever player. He’s obviously his own man and he’s putting his own ideas across, and the players are really buying into it and enjoying it.

“We’ve had a couple of good training weeks and the Hibs game was a good performance, so it’s been all positive. The boys are upbeat and we’re ready for the fight.”

Steven MacLean is confident St Johnstone are up for the battle after being sucked back into relegation trouble in recent months.

The Perth side looked comfortable in mid-table in February but a poor run of form – which cost manager Callum Davidson his job last month – has allowed clubs beneath them to close the gap.

Saints – who survived via a play-off last season – go into their post-split fixtures six points ahead of last-placed Ross County and only two points ahead of joint-second-bottom pair Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

Defeat at home to resurgent United on Saturday could leave the McDiarmid Park side sitting in the relegation play-off spot, but interim manager MacLean feels they can take encouragement from the fact they are still “in the driving seat”.

“I think they are, I think they know that,” he said when asked if the Saints players were fully aware of the gravity of their predicament.

“The players know they are in a battle. All we’re concentrating on is ourselves right now. We know what we’ve got to do. We’re in the driving seat, it’s in our own hands. We’re not really looking towards other teams.”

MacLean was handed the reins two and a half weeks ago after the sacking of Davidson. The 40-year-old oversaw a 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian in his first game in charge and – with no fixture last weekend – he arranged a “competitive” friendly against his former club Hearts last Friday to keep his squad ticking over.

MacLean is relishing his first taste of management but insists there is no update with regard to the longer-term managerial situation at Saints.

Asked if he had any further discussions about his position, MacLean said: “No, I’m just in charge until I’m told not to be.

“I’m enjoying it. It’s hard work. It’s something that’s always been in the back of mind that I wanted to do. I’m just really concentrating on the next five games.

“Dundee United is first so I’m just looking at that and putting all my thoughts into that and having the players focused.

“The boys have been excellent. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them and more.”