Saints in Mayday warning
Dons striker will ‘be buzzing’ for reunion
NO ONE knows more about Stevie May’s game than his former St Johnstone teammate Steven MacLean.
The veteran striker reckons the boy he watched grow into a man at McDiarmid Park will be eager to leave his mark on his hometown team at Pittodrie this afternoon.
And not purely because victory will take his current employers at Aberdeen six points clear of the fourth-placed Perth side.
As May prepares to face his old team for the first time since returning north following spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End, MacLean said Tommy Wright’s men will definitely be wary of the forward who became a cult hero with Saints fans en route to their club’s Scottish Cup triumph three years ago.
‘Maybe it will feel a bit strange for him but I’ve played against old teams plenty of times and, trust me, you do get a lift. He’ll have a buzz about him,’ said MacLean.
‘We’ve got a lot of respect for Mayso and I’m sure he’s got a lot of respect for us. It’s a funny one. He’ll not be wanting to say: “Get it up you” but he will be wanting to show our fans what they’re missing. And you don’t want the embarrassment of losing against your old team.
‘He’ll know what we’re like in this dressing room and what we’ll be doing to try to stop him from scoring.’
May has scored three times in seven appearances for the Dons since arriving just before the transfer-window deadline, and MacLean sees no change in the man who became a scoring sensation for St Johnstone.
‘May won’t shirk anything, we know that, but he’s not a chirper. If it was me up against Steven Anderson, we’d be chirping away at each other.
‘It will be interesting to see what they’re like. Maybe if he’s on top, Ando will have a wee word.
‘We’re going out to win the game but we know we have to keep a special eye on Stevie because he’s such a good player.
‘I’ve seen a couple of his goals and they have been cracking finishes. When he gets a chance, he shoots early. He still drifts out to the left side and likes to come in and shoot off his right. We need to be careful of that.’
MacLean (below) admits the top-three clash with former Saints management team Derek McInnes and Tony Docherty could provide a pointer for the rest of the season. Wright’s men present a major obstacle and are unbeaten in their last five league visits to the Granite City.
‘It will have an edge to it,’ said MacLean. ‘If we win, we’ll go second on goal difference and if they win, they’ll go six points ahead of us. So it’s massive for both sides.
‘They’ve had a few changes to their squad but Derek and Doc will be telling them what we’re all about, that’s for sure.
‘They don’t have Jonny Hayes’ pace anymore and Niall McGinn was more about trickery. But they’ve still got quality with Ryan Christie, Greg Stewart and Gary Mackay-Steven.
‘They’ve changed their system a couple of times but we need to react to whatever they do and impose our own style on the game.’ One Dons newcomer, Stewart, admits he’s yet to impress despite high expectations following his arrival on loan from Birmingham City. Once so prolific in his time at Dundee, the forward scored on his full debut for McInnes’ side — against Siroki Brijeg in the Europa League — but has since started only three of the team’s nine domestic games.
‘On a personal level, I hoped to be doing better,’ admitted the 27year-old. ‘We obviously have a big squad and a lot of good players but I expect myself to do a bit better. It’s not quite happened yet but hopefully if I keep working hard, it will eventually turn.’
Stewart was a bit behind his team-mates in terms of fitness after returning north in July but feels he has now caught up.
‘It’s more match-sharpness, being in and out of the team has been a little bit frustrating.
‘That’s probably down to myself, I’ve not played as well as I should, but I will just keep on working hard. Hopefully it comes good.’