Newly promoted St Johnstone begin their SPL League campaign at home to Motherwell on Saturday and history suggests they will remain in the top flight come May, reports the club's official website. Only twice in SPL history has the team coming up from Division One been relegated in their first season - St Mirren went down in 2000/01 and Gretna suffered the same fate in 2007/08.

How the promoted clubs have fared in their first SPL season:

1998/99 - Dundee -5th

1999/00 - Hibernian - 6th

2000/01 - Dunfermline - 9th

2000/01 - St Mirren - 12th(R)

2001/02 - Livingston - 3rd

2002/03 - Partick Thistle - 10th

2004/05 - Inverness CT - 8th

2005/06 - Falkirk - 10th

2006/07 - St Mirren - 11th

2007/08 - Gretna - 12th (R)

2008/09 - Hamilton - 9th