FULL OF UPS AND DOWNS Davidson describes first quarter as a rollercoaster
Premiership,Premiership tomorrow, kick-off 7.45pm
Callum Davidson is reflecting on a rollercoaster first quarter of the season.
But the cup double- winning manager is looking forward to having more squad stability in the coming weeks.
Perth boss Davidson has been required to chop and change his side throughout the majority of the campaign so far.
He is remaining patient as 10th-placed Saints attempt to kick- start a run when Hearts visit McDiarmid Park tomorrow evening.
“Up and down is probably the best way to describe it,” Davidson said of the start to the league season.
“There have been some good performances in there and some good results.
“Injuries and some refereeing decisions haven’t helped but I think we’ll come out of this quarter a lot stronger than we’ve been going through it.
“As great as the European games were, they’ve probably been a hindrance to us in the league.
“When they’re in July you don’t have other games to deal with but because we were a bit later, we had the league matches before and after when players are getting into the swing of things. We knew it would be a factor.
“I’m happy with the strength of the squad now and we just need everybody to stay fit.
“You’ll hopefully see the best of us when the international breaks are out of the way and I can get consistency of team selection.”
Davidson added: “I don’t think I’ve been able to pick the same team twice – or if I have, it’s had to be changed pretty quickly.
“Throughout my career I’ve always believed in the benefits of not changing the back four or back five if it’s possible, and altering things in midfield and up front.
“That’s one thing I haven’t been able to do.
“I want to get combinations built all over the pitch. Stability is such a big thing in football.
“You can tweak things but to have a consistent core to your team is very important.
“Listen, we’d like to have more points on the board – which we probably deserve – but we can definitely get better.”
David Wotherspoon is a big doubt for tomorrow’s game with Hearts, although Murray Davidson and Michael O’Halloran are expected back.
Liam Gordon and Craig Bryson returned from injury in Saturday’s 2- 0 defeat against Celtic and Davidson was delighted with their input.
He said: “The most pleasing thing for me from Saturday’s game was the performances of Liam Gordon and Craig Bryson.
“I didn’t intend to play Liam for the full 90 minutes because he’s only trained for a week but he did really well.
“And that ’ s Craig’s first competitive game since the Scottish Cup final. Credit to both of them.
“With Craig, it was worth trying to get him back for the big European ties. It didn’t work out but that’s football.
“It happened to me in my career – both when it didn’t come off and when it did. That’s the gamble you take sometimes.
“There are no ill-effects from it. He showed he’s good to go now and we’ll make sure we manage him over the next few weeks.”