St Johnstone manager admits squad overhaul now on the horizon

“DISAPPOINTED, frustrated and angry” St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson has admitted a squad overhaul is coming next month.

The Perth side slumped to a seventh successive defeat, with Ross County the latest team to leave McDiarmid Park three points better off.

Two points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership, Davidson made no attempt to downplay the scale of the task in front of Saints – or the rebuild of his confidence-drained team that is required to avoid relegation.

“We know the margin for error is tight,” he said.

“There is a long way to go, but January is going to be very important.

“In the first couple of weeks next month we have to get players in. We have to bring quality in.

“It’s a chance to do our work. It will be a busy couple of weeks.

“There will have to be big changes because it has not been good enough.

“Defensively last season we were very good but at the moment we haven’t been good enough in that department.

“It’s something I have to sort and take responsibility for.”

Ex-Saint Ross Callachan scored the County winner after Jacob Butterfield had cancelled out the visitors’ early opener.

And there was no doubt the better team won.

“I expect them to fight and to be better in certain situations,” said Davidson.

“I am disappointed, frustrated and angry.

“We have had issues but I expect better than that.

“I felt we reacted well to going a goal down, but defensively we were very poor.

“We didn’t win enough one-to-one battles. I asked them to have a go and it wasn’t good enough.”

Callum Davidson said “there will have to be changes”.