No more distractions for Saints

New signings are in, so it’s time for Perth men to push on and get off bottom spot, says defender Gordon

The time for being distracted by comings and goings at McDiarmid Park has gone, St Johnstone defender Liam Gordon has insisted.

With deadline day in the dim and distant past and new signings on board, there is nothing left to divert attention away from winning games of football and climbing up the Premiership table.

And, with Jason Holt, Stevie May and Anthony Ralston in their side, Gordon is confident that will happen, with the centre-back saying: “The new signings have given the place a massive lift.

“Now the pressure is on us to go out and get results.

“For the first few weeks of the season all the talk was about who we needed to bring in and what positions needed strengthened.

“All that is done now, the talking is finished and it’s up to us as players to do the business. Everyone knows what Stevie May can do and what impact he can have here, while getting Jason Holt is a coup.

“I was with him at Hearts so have known him for a long time and know exactly how good he is.

“When we were first linked with him I remember thinking we’d do well to get him, so credit to the gaffer and the chairman for making it happen.

“The lads were asking me about him before he signed and I couldn’t speak highly enough about him.

“He’ll be a really good signing for the club.

“Anthony Ralston has played in massive games for Celtic – he’s marked Neymar in the Champions League – so he’s a good addition too.

“All three of them are ready to go into the team and you can see from just training with them the quality they’ve got.

“The calibre of player the gaffer has added is really good so we’re confident of starting to pick up wins now.”

Saints face a daunting trip to Pittodrie this afternoon but the Perth men have put the international break to good use ahead of the clash with Aberdeen.

“It might be a good thing that we didn’t have a game last weekend,” said Gordon.

“When you lose like we did to Kilmarnock you’d usually want another game straight away but the break has given the new boys a bit of time.

“The gaffer has been working hard on a few things and it has given time to the new signings to settle in.

“We need to cut out the mistakes but I don’t think that’s down to the defence being young.

“We all have experience of playing games and we know we can keep clean sheets. The age of the back four is no excuse.

“Last season we had a more experienced defence and went through a sticky patch of losing goals, this one has been the same.

“It can happen, it happens to everyone at times and the big thing is how you bounce back.

“Against Aberdeen you have to defend well because they have so many threats.

“Sam Cosgrove has a great scoring record. He’s big and physical so that’s something we have to handle.”

There was a time when Aberdeen v Saints games had a real edge to them. One such occasion was a match Gordon made a name for himself in as a rookie defender.

“I played at Pittodrie a few years ago in the quarter-final of the League Cup,” he recalled.

“That was the day they scored in the last minute after we played really well and there was a bit of bother afterwards.

“We were not happy they left the dressing room door open. We could hear them playing music and celebrating.

“At the time we saw it as a bit disrespectful but their boys apologised for it later on and it was fine.

“I’d made my debut the season before at Tynecastle but that was my first game that season.

“We played really well that night but it’s a few years ago now.”

David Wotherspoon and Matty Kennedy will be available after returning from international camps with Canada and Northern Ireland. Liam Craig is the only player injured.

Manager Tommy Wright said: “Derek (McInnes) has assembled another good squad. They’re a strong side with pace in the team and midfielders who can play.

“It will be a tough afternoon but we’ll hopefully make it a difficult afternoon for them.

“We’ve had some good results there. The one thing we know is we have to play well to get a result.”

Pictures: Perthshire Picture Agency/SNS. Liam Gordon, far left, Jason Holt and Madis Vihmann during yesterday morning’s training session ahead of the game at Aberdeen. Right: Anthony Ralson coming up against Neymar when Celtic played Paris St-Germain in the Champions League.