Saints boss wants to see run of form extended

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright is looking for his side to continue to show they are edging closer to their usual high levels of consistency when they face Hamilton at McDiarmid Park tomorrow night, writes Neil Robertson.

Saints go into the game after the international break having taken four points from their last two matches against Dundee and Hibs.

Accies, though, are also on a good run of their own at the moment having won two and drawn one of their previous three fixtures with Wright paying tribute to the job done by his opposite number Martin Canning.

The Saints boss said: “Martin must get sick of it every year when they are tagged as favourites to go down.

“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.”

Wright added: “The games between the teams have been close (this season).

“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 is finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of injuries with the manager hoping to get as many players back as possible before the end of the season.

He added: “Wednesday will be too early for Richard Foster 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 now.

“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.”

Picture: SNS Group. Richard Foster: has handed the manager a major boost by returning to action after injury much earlier than expected.