The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Davidson could return for crunch Dens clash
Murray Davidson’s St Johnstone comeback is likely to take place after the international break as opposed to before it.
The Perth side have one match to play before the Premiership is paused for the post-split fixtures.
And manager Callum Davidson believes Saints’ schedule, combined with the impressive form of his team, affords him the luxury of being “cautious” with the former Livingston man’s recovery from his calf injury.
As such, the Scottish Cup clash with Dundee on April 3 would appear to be a more realistic target for the ex-scotland international, who hasn’t played since limping off at Ibrox in early February.
“The wee break has been good for a few of the lads with niggling injuries,” the Mcdiarmid Park boss reported.
“Shaun (Rooney) and Craig (Bryson) are back fit and (young goalkeeper) Ross (Sinclair) is progressing well from surgery on his hand.
“Murray won’t be pushed to make the Ross County game.
“We would like Muzz available for these types of games but we have options in that area of the park.
“There’s the international weekend coming up so that gives us more time.
“We are probably being a little bit cautious with Murray and aiming at the first game after the split for him coming back into the squad.
“The last thing we want to do is push him too hard and risk him missing the rest of the season.”
Saints have a large group of players whose contracts will expire at the end of the season. They also have some star Betfred Cup heroes worthy of tying down early.
And there are discussions taking place between the club and agents on both fronts.
“We are working hard on getting them tied-up,” Davidson reported. “It is a two-pronged process.
“We want players going out of contract in the summer tied-up and others secured on longer deals.
“If you look at the stats virtually every player has a lot of game-time for me.
“It shows my trust in the squad.
“It is difficult financially for all clubs at the moment.
“We have gone a full year now without supporters coming into the grounds.
“That’s probably not what we expected when it all began and it has hit clubs hard, including St Johnstone.
“Like everyone else, we are braced for big losses.
“So we are trying to strike the right balance between making sure our players are taking home their salaries every month and ensuring the club continues to survive.”
Forcing their way into Davidson’s starting XI hasn’t been easy for three January recruits.
“Players like James (Brown), Glenn (Middleton) and Charlie (Gilmour) have had to be patient since coming in,” he said.
“But we have only lost to Rangers and Celtic since Boxing Day. It has been a great run.”
Saints know they need to beat Ross County on Saturday to have any chance of top-six football in the last few weeks of the season.
Even if the St Mirren result against Hamilton Accies means they fall on the wrong side of the splitline, the victory would banish any lingering prospect of the teams below dragging them back into the drop-zone equation.
“I still think we need another win to get away from the dogfight at the bottom of the table,” said Davidson.
“But I’d be looking for us to win every game in the run-in regardless of our position in the league.
“That outlook will not be changing.
“It’s good to have something riding on this final match before the split.
“I’d have taken that and a League Cup win for the first time in the club’s history at the start of the season, without a doubt.
“We were sitting bottom at some points and we now have a chance to get that final top-six place.
“Obviously we have to look at the St Mirren result so it’s not in our hands.
“All we can do is try to win our game and see where it takes us.
“It was disappointing we couldn’t get another game right away on the back of the win over Hibs but it was a busy February.
“Ross County have been playing well. It would be a tough one for Yogi to take against Hibs at the weekend.
“He has a team with lots of energy and I’m expecting another tight game against them.”