Who’d be a manager?
It was a bad day away from the office for a few SPFL managers yesterday. Tommy Wright tried to put some sort of face on it as St Johnstone were thumped at Fir Park. Meanwhile (insets from top) St Mirren’s Jim Goodwin, new Hibs boss Jack Ross and beleaguered Partick Thistle gaffer Ian McCall will have been happy today is a new month.
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright last night blamed diabolical defending for his side’s latest defeat, insisting that he needs to bring in an old head at the back in January in order to help end the naive decision-making which is proving so costly for the club.
When it was suggested that the goals they conceded at Fir Park must have felt like Groundhog Day for him, he didn’t disagree.
“That’s one way of describing it,” he said. “We counted seven decent balls into our box and we lost every header.
“Three of the goals come from crosses that they put in. We started well but it’s what you do in both boxes and we didn’t do enough.
“We had a four v two at 0-0, the best chance of the game at 2-0 with Matty Kennedy having a chance to get us back into it.
“But we can’t defend like that – and I can’t defend it. It’s individual errors that are costing us.
“I see Peter Hartley at the end of the game, putting his body on the line. My players can do that, too, but they don’t do it often enough or consistently enough.
“Motherwell won’t get four easier goals all season.
“It’s frustrating but, until we get some experience in, then they’re just going to have to deal with it. It’s not that they can’t do it, they just don’t do it often enough.
“But I have to be patient with them and stick with them as this is what we’ve got until January.
“We will get an experienced defender in. We could have got one in a month ago.
“The good thing is that we’re not getting cut adrift – that’s the biggest positive we have. We’re still in there. Hamilton and Livi only gained a point and St Mirren got beat so there’s not much change at the bottom.
“Everyone else is also dropping points but that’s small comfort – we have to get better.”
One plus point is that centre-back Wallace Duffy, who had to be subbed after collapsing off the ball, should be fit for Wednesday’s visit to Kilmarnock.
“It’s a concern whenever someone goes down and there’s nobody near him,” said Wright. “But he’s jarred his knee and he should be OK for Wednesday.”