The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Catch of the Day’ for Saints star Davidson
But midfielder happy to swap river bank for football return
He has enjoyed his time with a fishing rod in his hands but now it is time for Murray Davidson to get football boots back on his feet.
Overdoing lockdown running caused tendonitis to flare-up in pre-season for the St Johnstone star, and kept him out of Callum Davidson’s first five games in charge.
It meant angling was the only sporting action Davidson was getting.
As much as the former Livingston man is happy to relax on the river bank, an all-action midfield battle is where he is most at home.
And,with Liam Craig suspended for tomorrow’s visit of St Mirren to McDiarmid Park, there’s a strong chance he’ll be giving as good as he gets in another blood and thunder contest of flying elbows and full-throttle tackles.
“To be honest, I have fished for as long as I can remember,” said Davidson. “I get a lot of stick for it.
“But I love going out to the peace and quiet, getting away from everyone. I was out at a place near Gleneagles last week.
“My brother and dad are keen on the fishing. I love getting out into the countryside.
“When the golf and the fishing reopened during lockdown, there were only really two things to do. I did a lot of fishing and enjoyed it.
“I’ve been down to the Willowgate in Perth as well. I’m looking to get into it a bit more and have all my fishing gear up with me.
“I’m sure people will see me out on my travels going fishing.
“I think I’m pretty good. I can’t be that bad because I catch fish and that is half the battle, isn’t it?
“One of the reasons I do it is because it’s completely different. Wherever you fish, you get peace and quiet.
“And it’s not hard work. I find it relaxing and when I finish training I don’t really like speaking about football.
“It’s a complete switch-off – your mind is totally elsewhere when you are fishing.”
Davidson revealed that his earlyseason lay-off was caused by a misguided desire to push himself too hard during the coronavirus break from football.
“I got tendonitis and it was pretty much because of too much running on the hard ground during lockdown,” he admitted.
“I had done a lot of running. We were given programmes and, stupidly, I overdid it. At the time I didn’t realise.
“Part of it was maybe down to boredom but the main thing was you really want to be fit going back for pre-season.
“It got to a point where it was too sore. We’ve rested for the last month and it’s feeling great at the moment.
“Hopefully it’s at a stage where we can now manage it and kick on. I know a lot of players who have it at other clubs.”
For the first week in three, Saints haven’t had a midweek match. And Davidson has put it to good use with a full week of training.
“The manager spoke about involving me last weekend against Hibs but it was too soon,” he said.
“I’ve trained all of this week leading up to St Mirren. The injury is night and day compared to what it was.
“I’ve been desperate to get back in the last few weeks because I hate watching.
“Every player is the same. You feel helpless and just want to get out there for your team-mates.
“There are a few of us starting to come back now. The more choices we have the better for the team.”
Davidson is keen to help ensure that two hard-luck stories at home don’t become a hat-trick for Saints.
“I thought we defended really well in the Aberdeen game and couldn’t see us losing it,” he said.
“And then against Hibernian, if anybody edged the first half it was probably them. But second half was probably the best we’ve played in the past few weeks.
“Again I couldn’t see us losing. It has been unfortunate but in this league it is fine margins. It can be a set-piece, a decision or a wee bit of luck.
“I don’t think you can read into things too much so early in the season.
“People get carried away if you are winning games and push the panic button if not. I’ve been here long enough now to know it’s still very early.”