The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
St Johnstone new boy Foster relishing trip back from where he came
Former Staggies star returning to Highlands
The new football season has only just begun but already St Johnstone new boy Richard Foster is gearing up for his second Premiership clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
And the former Aberdeen and Rangers man is hoping that the result is the same as the first one.
“The last game I played for Ross County was away to Inverness and now I’m going back up there this weekend,” Foster said. “That’s just football.” When County won the Highland derby a couple of weeks ago, the change in style of play from the John Hughes Caley Thistle to the Richie Foran Caley Thistle was noticeable.
“Inverness teams of the past have always passed the ball well,” Foster said.
“With the new manager, against Ross County, they seemed to go more direct.
“If they do that then I’m sure we’ve got the players here who can handle it.”
Even though they have got a rookie manager in charge, Caley Thistle’s no points from three games start is one that few would have predicted. Foster certainly wouldn’t have.
“I think they miss Miles Storey up front,” he said.
“His pace posed a big threat. But they’ve got a lot of players who have been there a while.
“So it is a bit of a surprise. Sometimes that can happen. It can take you a while to get going. It wasn’t an easy game a couple of weeks ago and it won’t be easy on Saturday. I don’t think you get any easy games in this league but we feel we’ll have the quality to get a result up there.”
Foster doesn’t believe his is a career that needs to get back on track at McDiarmid Park because he felt last season as a Ross County player had been a decent one.
“I played 35 games last year so I was pretty settled,” he explained.
“Just before the end of the season I was told I could move on if I found a club. It was a shock. We’d finished in the top six and won the cup. I thought I’d had a good season but these things happen.
“The manager felt I hadn’t been consistent enough. That’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it. I disagreed with him but he’s the manager and that’s how it goes.
“I wish Ross County all the best but I’ve moved on now and they’ll be one of our competitors to get into the top six.”
Foster added: “I was delighted that the opportunity came up to play here. St Johnstone have been consistently in the top six for the last four or five years. The manager seems to get the best out of the players.
“Football-wise it’s a perfect move for me. And logistically I can get back to living with my girlfriend in Glasgow. It ticks every box.”
Foster has had a few transfers in his career but being pitched into a match against Celtic without a training session with new team-mates was a first.
“I found out I was moving on Friday morning,” he recalled.
“I collected my things and drove down so I didn’t get here until about half-twelve, quarter-to-one. They boys were just coming in from training.
“The manager said he felt I had enough experience to go straight in and I knew most of the lads from playing against them. I’ve never come into a team that quickly so it was a new experience.
“Although we lost it was good to be involved and the next couple of weeks will be important now.”
On the Celtic defeat, Foster observed: “I don’t think we’ll face a better team this year. I thought that first half Celtic were very good. They moved the ball really quickly. They’ve got a lot of quality.
“It was a tough game but these are the type of matches you want to play in as a footballer. So it was good and bad.”