Wright’s impressed by Accies

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright reckons Hamilton have again proved the doubters wrong.

Martin Canning’s men make the trip to McDiarmid Park on Wednesday night looking to build on a positive run of form.

The South Lanarkshire club sit only four points behind eighth-placed Saints but have two games in hand.

Wright has been impressed with how Accies have conducted themselves this season.

“Martin must get sick of it every year when they are tagged as favourites to go down,”said Perth boss Wright.

“Without having the exact details, I would imagine this is the most points they have had at this stage.

“They have games in hand and will be looking to finish in seventh place.

“They keep proving people wrong and have a team that plays for one another. They have good spirit and quality throughout.

“This year they have probably scored more goals which has been a problem in previous years.

“They are perhaps a bit more direct than what they have been in the past but ultimately they are proving people wrong again.

“The games between the teams have been close.

“From our point of view, we are starting to show signs of having the consistency back in our game.

“Hopefully we can take that into Wednesday night and build on the little run we have put together.”

Wright added:“Hamilton have lost players but have managed to do better. That shows how good a job Martin

has done. They always have young players to come in and have a production line of players ready to step up.

“But they have experience and Dougie Imrie came on against Ross County and did really well.

“Templeton has been playing like he was when he was at Hearts. He is playing with a lot of confidence.”

Perth defender Richard Foster continues to recover at speed from a hamstring problem but won’t make Wednesday.

Providing an injury update, Wright said:“Wednesday will be too early for Richard but he will definitely be in the squad for Saturday.

“Callum Hendry has returned to full training but will need a few more days on the pitch before he would be considered.

“Brian Easton is now pain-free and has settled down. We just need to increase his workload.

“Stefan Scougall is doing really well and David McMillan has been able to do a bit of running.

“We have the view that he will be a couple of weeks away. It has been a tough time for us in terms of injuries.

“At one stage we had eight missing but we have dealt with it reasonably well.

“The big plus is Richard. With the type of injury he had, to get him back for the last six or seven games is a real bonus.

“The earliest we thought we would get him back was right at the end of the season. He has almost cut that in half.

“That is a benefit because I want as many players fit between now and the end of the season to finish off strongly.”

Saints welcomed back internationalists David Wotherspoon, who is suspended for Wednesday, and Jason Kerr on Monday morning.

Wright said:“Jason Kerr has being capped at Under-21 level. The more players that play international football the better.

“I don’t look on it as a negative, it is a real positive for the club.

“Being selected for your country and to play at that level, I always felt that it gave tremendous confidence.

“You always looked forward to going away and came back to your club looking to kick on again.

“It’s an environment where, if they embrace it, they can do extremely well and become even better players.”