Wotherspoon close to new deal in Perth
St Johnstone are closing in on a new deal for local stalwart David Wotherspoon, manager Callum Davidson has revealed.
And the Perth boss is also hopeful that full-back Scott Tanser will be remaining at McDiarmid Park beyond the summer.
Saints, who have extended Liam Gordon’s contract to the summer of 2022, are keen to keep hold of key members of their squad.
Davidson said: “We’ve been working hard with Scott Tanser and David Wotherspoon to get contracts agreed.
“I’d like to do more but COVID and this new strain hasn’t helped.
“Hopefully we can agree deals with Scott and David and then crack on with the rest of them. I’m quite optimistic.
“David’s one isn’t too far away to get across the line.
“Scott’s is slightly different but hopefully we can get something sorted out there as well.
“Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener.
“If you’re playing well, which he is, and you’re enjoying your football, which he is, that’s a huge thing, especially for Scott at the age he is.
“If there was a good offer for him I obviously wouldn’t stop him going back down the road but there are a lot of things he’ll need to factor into the equation – one of them being he’s playing in a position that he really likes, wing-back.
“I’m hoping we can get him tied up.” Getting the deal done for Perth centre-back Gordon was important for Davidson.
He said: “It’s great that we’ve managed to get Liam signed up.
“Liam’s ambitious. It’s not just a case of him being happy to stay because it’s his hometown club.
“He wants to improve and I think he feels that he’s done that this season – he’s played a lot of games – and that he can continue doing that.
“I’ve made him captain when Liam (Craig) and Jason have been out so he knows what I think of him.
“We’ll make sure he keeps progressing and improving.
“He’s mentally strong and has become a leader in the team. We’ve got two or three of those now in the dressing room and on the pitch, which we need.
“For me, he’s been one of the standout performers this season.”
On the playing front, attention turns to Tuesday evening’s rescheduled Premiership away fixture against Dundee United.
An area of the Tannadice pitch was not able to thaw out in time on Saturday and could not pass a 1.15pm pitch inspection.
“We’re obviously really disappointed,” said Davidson. “We were desperate to play the game.
“By all accounts the pitch was terrible and there was no way the game was going to be on. It was rock solid.
“It would have been better if it had just been called off earlier and we could have moved it to Sunday.
“We wanted it played as early as possible. With no fans, it’s easier to rearrange games when they are calledoff.
“It will be on Tuesday night and we’ll look forward to that now.
“Hopefully there will be enough of a thaw between now and then for the frozen bits to improve.”
Despite the call-off, Davidson managed to put his players through their paces to keep the legs ticking over.
“We got a good training session in, which was the only positive,” he said. “The boys worked really hard and everybody came through it well.”