A single James Forrest strike was enough to see the Hoops through to the final, with Postecoglou's men unable to show more for an utterly dominant display that saw them register 79 per cent possession and 16 shots, although only three were on target.

"What matters is this football club expects to be in finals and playing for trophies," Postecoglou said after the win, which sees him compete for major silverware after only a few months in the job.

"It was tough but we expected it to be, it’s a semi-final and there was a lot at stake.

"St Johnstone are a tough team to play against in these conditions but I thought we kept our discipline and kept calm. We didn’t get too frustrated that we hadn’t scored and got our goal at a good time and could have had a couple more.

"I thought the supporters were outstanding tonight. I think they deserve to get to another final and show again what a great crowd they are."

Forrest proved to be an inspired change by the Australian, who brought him on with 20 minutes to go and saw him score minutes after his introduction.

It’s been a disruptive season so far for the winger through injury, but Ange Postecoglou knows how vital he is to the team.

"It’s great for us we’re at that stage now where we have depth on the bench where we can put players on," Postecoglou added.

"We’ve just got to keep going, it doesn’t stop. We know that’s the levels we expect to perform at.

"We know there’s still challenges ahead of us and we still need to improve but at the moment we are on a good road."