Saints urged to build on positives

Hot and cold St Johnstone are targeting their first 90-minute display of the season against Hibs, according to defender Liam Gordon.

The Perth centre-back believes each one of Saints’ four Premiership games so far has given them encouragement.

But sustaining the level of performance they are aspiring to for a whole match has been beyond them.

And Gordon wants to see that change when the high-flying Hibees visit McDiarmid Park tomorrow.

“There were positives to take from our second half at Tannadice, there were positives to take from our first half at Ibrox and there were positives to take from parts of the game at Rugby Park,” he said. “Especially how we moved the ball when they went down to 10 men.

“And there were a lot of positives to take from the Aberdeen game.

“The key is putting a 90-minute performance together now.

“When we do that you’ll see some good results.”

The Easter Road side have an array of attacking talent Gordon and his fellow defenders will have to be at their best to deal with, possibly ex-Saint Drey Wright among them.

He said: “There are a lot of teams in the league with good attacking options and Hibs are definitely one of them.

“We played them in pre-season and we know what they’re about. Hopefully we handle them well and help the team get a good result.

“We obviously know Drey well. It was a sore one to lose a player of his calibre. But the manager has brought in some good signings and we won’t get carried away with what they’re doing. It’s about how we perform.”

Making sure they create more chances will be the focus for Saints in the clash with the Edinburgh side after that became an issue against Aberdeen on Thursday night.

Gordon said: “I thought we were the stronger team, especially the first half. I thought we kept control of the ball really well.

“When we got into the final third we needed to be a bit better, more clinical. Losing that game was a bitter pill to swallow.

“We’ve got a big game to focus on this Sunday. Now we’re concentrating on that. We need to bounce back and get three points.”

Chris Kane has missed all Saints’ games so far, with Stevie May only getting a brief run-out off the bench at Tannadice on day one. Both could be in the squad for the Hibs match.

“We’ve had a few injuries, there’s no doubt about that,” said Gordon. “But we’ve got a strong enough 11 to go and compete and get points against anyone in the league. I wouldn’t be using that as an excuse.

“Our team was strong and we had substitutes to come on who can contribute as well.

“It’s about being more clinical as a team (and keeping a clean sheet because it was disappointing to lose a goal in that fashion). We go again.”

Gordon is enjoying life in a back three, with Jamie McCart and Jason Kerr either side of him.

“We played with a three at times last season and got some good results,” he said. “We work very well together and we know the strengths of each other.

“The communication between us is good and it gives the team a strong foundation.”