The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Wright hopes Saints thrive in December
saints: Mcdiarmid Park manager played one game for Killie boss at Newcastle
St Johnstone have prospered in the past when the football season gathers pace at this time of year, according to Tommy Wright.
And the Perth boss is hopeful the same will be true in 2017.
Saints welcome Kilmarnock to Mcdiarmid Park tomorrow, with their disjointed campaign about to get very busy.
“Last weekend was probably a weekend we would have liked to play coming off the back of a good result at Hibs,” he said.
Tommy Wright and Steve Clarke probably won’t spend much time reminiscing about the good old days when they meet up at Mcdiarmid Park tomorrow.
Because, as St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright revealed, their one game together as player and manager wasn’t exactly a career highlight for either of them.
“I know Steve well and he was actually my manager for a game years ago,” Wright recalled.
“He was on the coaching staff when I went back to Newcastle from Man City for a month’s loan. Ruud Gullit was the manager and Steve was his number two, but Ruud got the sack after one game and then Steve took over before Bobby Robson got the job.
“Neither of us will really want to remember the result of that game because it was away to Manchester United and we lost 5-1. We got a man sent off and Andy Cole scored a hat-trick.
“It was 1-1 when Nikos Dabizas got sent off and they went on to give us a bit of a doing. Did I throw any in? No, and even if I did I wouldn’t be admitting to it now!”
Wright added: “We have kept in touch now and again since through football stuff. He’s a good guy, someone who always gets back to you when you phone him up and is as helpful as he can be.
“It’s great to see someone of his quality come into the league. He’s a very good coach and manager. He got a few raw deals in England, particularly at West Brom because he did very well there.
“Him coming to Scotland is maybe a sign of the times given how it’s gone down south with all the foreign ownership.
“They want foreign coaches in more and more, so that cut down the number of clubs for managers down south.
“You can look at it that way but also it’s a signal of how Scottish football is growing and becoming stronger.
“It’s good for the league that someone of Steve’s calibre has come here.
“He has been very positive about the Premiership, as has Brendan Rodgers since he came up here, and that’s a great thing for Scottish football.”
Clarke’s Kilmarnock side are unbeaten in their last six away games, which is all the warning Wright and his players require ahead of this weekend’s fixture. “It will be a tough game,” he said. “He will have Kilmarnock well coached and well organised. You have seen that already with the great away performances they have had against the Old Firm.
“They have struggled more at home over the years because I don’t think that pitch gives them any advantage.
“They will be looking for a reaction to losing to Aberdeen so we are expecting a tough game this weekend.”
enicolson@thecourier.co.uk