Win will put us on a firm footing
Gus targets three points
Gus MacPherson insists a win over injury-ravaged Hearts tomorrow would turn St Mirren’s season on its head.
The club’s new technical director, who retuned to the Saints two months ago to provide support for manager Oran Kearney, insists the squad is rested and raring to go after the international break.
MacPherson now believes the squad is ready to reach the levels expected by the management team.
He said: “The training has been excellent. The tempo and intensity have been good.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel when you see them applying themselves like that. That’s what’s required at this level of football.
“It’s tough – physically and mentally – but if they apply themselves as they have done you would hope they get a break along the way.
“Some of the performances at home have been decent. In the final 20 minutes of the last game away to Dundee they were excellent. That’s what’s required.
He added: “The key thing was one or two of them needed to rest. A few had minor niggling injuries so the break has enabled them to settle down.
“That’s probably why the intensity in training this week has been a little bit sharper. Hopefully we see the benefits of that tomorrow.
“A win would lift the place as we’ve been encouraged by most of the performances. It’s about putting points on the board and trying to close the gap on Hamilton and Motherwell.
“We have to be competitive going into December when we’ve got seven games and others have got eight or nine. So, that will be a really tough month. You need points on the board to set you up for that.”
Despite injuries to some of Craig Levein’s key men, including John Souttar, Uche Ikpeazu, Christophe Berra, and Steven Naismith, MacPherson, who is helping oversee the club’s January recruitment plans, believes Hearts still pose a formidable test.
“People talk about the injuries they’ve got but Craig has still got a strong squad to pick from.
“The team that played against Kilmarnock was still very strong and unfortunate not to take anything from that game. They’ll be up there challenging for a number of months. Whether they go the full distance only time will tell,” he added.