We'll make sure we're on the right Trak

Fired-up Davidson insists Perth men can put Armenian hell behind them

MURRAY DAVIDSON hopes he gets off to a flyer against Trakai this week after the agony of his last Euro adventure.

The St Johnstone midfielder was told he’d snapped his cruciate ligament against Alashkert two years ago – and endured a journey from hell sprawled across three seats on a flight home from Armenia.

But Davidson, who has recovered from tidy-up surgery on a niggling ankle injury in time to face Trakai in Thursday’s Europa League opener, wasn’t convinced by the initial diagnosis.

And his gut feeling was spot on as he ended up making a speedy recovery.

The 29-year-old said: “It was a long flight home as I had been told it looked like it was my cruciate ligament. But I was sort of in denial.

“Luckily it wasn’t and I only ended up missing one league game. At the time it wasn’t great though.

“It was a seven-hour flight and I remember saying to the doctor to be honest and he just said, ‘We think you have done your cruciate.’

“When I did it on the pitch I played on for 10 or 15 minutes so I had it in my head it wasn’t – and when I got it scanned it wasn’t.

“It was a huge relief but I’m looking for better memories this year. I definitely feel fit enough. The physio has worked me extremely hard so pre-season has been tough. Playing is a different type of fitness but if called upon I feel ready.”

Tommy Wright’s men were hammered after their shock Euro exit two years ago – going out on away goals after a 1-0 away defeat was followed by a 2-1 win at home.

And Davidson doesn’t fancy crashing out before the league campaign cranks up.

He said: “If you go out a lot of negative things get said about you. We have to put in a good performance and progress.

“If we get knocked out by a bigger club the press won’t slaughter us then. But there is pressure no matter who you play.

“Against a big team you have pressure to perform and put on a good performance.

“If you play a lower team you’re expected to progress. It’s a pressure we are delighted to have.”

Saints rounded off their Euro preparations with a 2-0 closeddoors weekend win over Welsh side Connah’s Quay.

And Davidson reckons past experience will be vital in getting beyond the first-round qualifier.

He said: “There is a large chunk of the dressing room who have European experience.

“It will be new to a few of the boys but a large part of the squad have been here here three or four times now. That is a big help and that can only be a positive.

“Being in Europe is great for the players, for the fans, for Perth.

“We’re at home first so we need to try tp get a positive result and see where it takes us.”

Meanwhile, boss Wright insists he has faith in his homegrown kids to rise to the challenge.

Liam Gordon, Jason Kerr and Ally Gilchrist have mustered only a handful of first-team appearances between them.

But with skipper Steven Anderson ruled out for four weeks by a knee injury sustained in a friendly against Rangers, Wright will turn to one of the youngsters to plug the gap at the heart of his defence against Trakai.

There’s a touch of deja vu for Wright who went into a tie with Alashkert two years ago without his first-choice central defence, Anderson and Frazer Wright.

But he said: “I have complete faith in the young players. They gained firstteam experience on loan and will be ready to step in.

“It’s unfortunate Steven will miss the games with Trakai but we feared it could be worse. On the plus side we’ll have Ando back for the start of the league.”

ALAN MARSHALL We’re at home first so we need to try and get a positive result DAVIDSON