WRIGHT HAS NO TIME FOR ENVY
THEY ARE definitely the poor relations. But Tommy Wright insists he doesn’t begrudge Aberdeen counterpart Derek McInnes a single penny of his Pittodrie budget. The St Johnstone boss, playing up the financial gulf between the sides contesting tomorrow’s second Scottish Cup semifinal, said: ‘Derek has earned the right to spend a bit of money. ‘For example, we were in for Adam Rooney in January, on a loan deal because we couldn’t have afforded a contract. But because Derek has done so well and the gates at Pittodrie have almost doubled, he was able to give Rooney a two-and-a-half year deal. ‘It’s different for us. We’re a smaller club and, although we’ve done well, our budget has been cut. We qualified for Europe last season and the budget went down again. ‘But at a massive club like Aberdeen, one where there hasn’t been much success in recent years, there is the scope to improve. Someone had to get it right. Derek has and you can see that in their gates. ‘I can only see Aberdeen going from strength to strength now, but I think we do well with what we have. ‘Do I get jealous of Derek? No. I accepted this job with my eyes open and know how the finances here are run. ‘I’m happy with that and the chairman has backed me as much as he can. ‘I needed a midfielder in January and he got me James Dunne. It’s a positive for me if I can do well under a strict budget. ‘We’ve been in the top six and in Europe — but we’re still losing money. So a cup final would be huge for the club financially. Will I see any of it if it happens? I doubt it.’ Wright knows what to expect from compatriot Niall McGinn tomorrow, singling out the Dons striker as an obvious danger man, adding: ‘He’s someone who can do very little in a game but then pop up and create something or score himself.’