‘Starting to feel like home’ - ex Hibs man vows to make up for lost time after signing deal at league rivals

Former Hibs star Drey Wright has signed a new one year contract extension with St Johnstone which will keep him at McDiarmid Park next season.

The Colchester United academy graduate missed a large part of last season with a knee injury but proved his worth in the second half of the campaign as he helped The Saints to beat the drop with a 10th place finish.

Wright, who played for Hibs for two seasons between 2020 and 2022, has been lauded for his versatility in recent times and has helped St Johnstone in a number of areas on the pitch including right wing, right back and right wing back.

He returned to McDiarmid Park on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 and has now made 97 appearances for the club in total across two spells.

After penning his new deal, Drey told the club website: “I’m really happy to get things sorted here and I am looking forward to making up for some lost time.

“I think I was improving with every game towards the end of the season and thankfully I was able to help get the job done.

“Hopefully now, with a full pre-season, the improvement can continue and I can contribute a lot more in the upcoming season.

“Pre-season will be hard graft as ever but that is needed to give ourselves the best chance of success in the cup games and in the league.”

Drey added that he has made a number of positive relationships with players and coaching staff and claims that Perth is starting to feel more like home with each passing season.

He added: “It’s my fifth year at Saints so it’s starting to feel like home.

“I enjoy coming in every day and I’ve made a lot of friends. After some really positive discussions with the manager and Andy Kirk, I’m really looking forward to my next year here.” 

St Johnstone boss Craig Levein also expressed his delight at getting the deal over the line as he targets an improved season next term.

Levein said: “We are delighted to extend Drey’s contract at McDiarmid Park. Drey has been a big part of the club for a number of years now and he will continue to play an important role going forward.

“Drey was left frustrated with injury for most of last season, but he showed his importance at the end of the campaign. He was a significant player for us and we are now excited to get back to work with him during pre-season.”