Derby clashes in past, says Wright

Saints boss expecting no repeat of last month’s touchline trouble

Tommy Wright is confident that Saturday’s Tayside derby will pass off without any touchline trouble.

Neil McCann and Zander Clark were hit with bans in the wake of the post-match fracas at Dens Park a few weeks ago, McCann’s reduced from two to one after appeal. The Dundee boss won’t be in the dugout this time as he serves that suspension but, even if he was, Wright insisted that “there is no problem from my end”.

“What happened has happened,” he said. “It’s been dealt with and it’s finished now.

“There was a bit of aggression. I admitted that I probably over-celebrated that day, but there is a bit of a difference between that and raising your hands to a player.

“But it’s all in the past now and I don’t think there will be any problems this weekend.”

Since the 4-0 win for Saints in March, the Perth side have all but secured their Premiership status for another season.

Dundee, though, have not won a game in their four post-derby fixtures and their need for a victory is far greater this time around.

“There is a huge amount of pressure on Dundee because of where they are in the league,” said Wright.

“They are a big club, who have been able to turn down a big money offer for one of their players, and I’m sure they wouldn’t have thought they’d be in a similar situation to this time last year.”

Twitter: @C_ENicolson