Only Aberdeen have figured out the conundrum of conquering Caley Thistle this season and manager Terry Butcher is keen to keep the rest of the league puzzled at their progress up to the international break.
Thinking outside the box so his team can do well inside the penalty box with a series of innovative and imaginative team talks and meetings has been the former England’s captain’s formula to reach the top of the league.
Butcher will have to change his starting line-up for the first time in the top flight this term with left winger Ben Greenhalgh expected to replace midfielder James Vincent (hyper extended knee) at St Johnstone.
Yet, the ex-Scotland assistant manager will do nothing differently at McDiarmid Park.
He said: “There has been a big thing made about my team talks and team meetings. I have been called The Riddler by some people but it is just a bit of fun. It is light-hearted and takes the players’ minds off the game.
“When I was at the SPFL manager’s meeting in Dundee (on Thursday) all the other managers were talking about what we do.
“(St Mirren manager) Danny Lennon presented me with a conundrum. I felt like a male Carol Vorderman, I will be on Countdown soon.
“They were all asking me what the secret was. There is no secret.
“We do things a little bit differently. They all add up to the bigger picture, as long as the players are relaxed and happy it is great. There is no pressure or tension on us. We did not beat St Johnstone last year and we have not won against them for some time.
“All the games have been close. they have a lot of experience but we want to extend our two-match unbeaten run and our spot at the top of the table.”
Butcher will be forced into altering his winning side after recording six wins out of eight league matches.
He added: “We have to make a change but James Vincent’s injury could have been far worse. He will see an orthopedic specialist next week. He had a scan and it showed he bent his knee back the wrong way.
“It could have been a cruciate ligament injury but his medial and lateral ligaments are intact.
“We are waiting for a timescale but he will miss out against St Johnstone and he will get assessed during the international break. James will be a big miss for us and it will be the first league game where I have had to change the team.
“I am very relaxed about it. We have good options and Ben Greenhalgh did very well last week.”