Davidson has Friday on his mind after failing to find sunshine in Leith

ST JOHNSTONE manager Callum Davidson has moved on swiftly from his team’s 4-0 defeat to Hibs and declared: “It’s all about Friday”.

Making sure as many of his first team regulars are available for the allor-nothing playoffs against Inverness Caledonian Thistle was the Perth boss’s Easter Road priority.

Davidson got his wish in that regard and also revealed he’s expecting the majority of the players left out of his weekend starting line-up to be fit for the first leg in the Highlands.

“It was really important we managed the game and no one got sent off or injured,” he said.

“We started the first 25 or 30 minutes well and then you could see some of the boys hadn’t played in a while.

“They maybe weren’t as sharp and we dropped way off it.

“The second half wasn’t acceptable but we are ready for Friday night now.

“Guys who needed games have minutes in their legs.

“We will have a few boys back from injury for the Inverness game so we will have a bigger squad available.”

Davidson added: “We didn’t want to take risks. James Brown was on the bench and Callum Hendry had a tight hamstring so they didn’t play.

“It was a game we wanted to play well and do well but if we beat Hibs and lost to Inverness as we lost three players due to injury or suspension people wouldn’t be happy.

“We wanted to put in a better performance than we did in the second half.

“It’s a reminder to some of them how hard they have to work if they want to make the team.”

On-loan Hull forward James Scott scored a hattrick with Paul McGinn making up the Hibs tally.

Callum Davidson rested vital players against Hibs.